Ed Parcaut and Mike Kelly cover builder confidence at a 14-year low, California's August sales, a Central Valley real estate fraud sentence and how agents can put a crew of AI bots to work.

In this episode:

• Local check: Stanislaus County at 863 active listings, 322 pending and 139 closed (the MLS screen shown on air)

• California in August: existing single-family home sales up 1.4% from a year ago and a statewide median price of $901,420, up 0.1% (C.A.R., Sept 16, 2026: https://www.car.org/aboutus/mediacenter/newsreleases/2026releases/august2026sales)

• Japan's U.S. Treasury holdings fell $35.6 billion in August and China's fell $27.3 billion (U.S. Treasury TIC data, released Oct 16, 2026: https://ticdata.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/tic/Documents/slt_table5.html)

• AI stocks bounce back, and what the Fed odds look like for October 28 and beyond

• Builder confidence fell 3 points to 29 in October, the lowest since June 2012. 43% of builders cut prices, the average cut was 6%, and 65% used sales incentives (NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, Oct 19, 2026: https://www.nahb.org/news-and-economics/press-releases/2026/10/builder-sentiment-falls-on-rising-rates)

• Sellers are negotiating. Don't offer list price just because it's listed there (Ed and Mike's opinion)

• Fraud watch: a former Delano man got 7 years and 10 months in federal prison for a $10 million fake real estate agent scheme in the Central Valley (IRS Criminal Investigation, Sept 28, 2026: https://www.irs.gov/compliance/criminal-investigation/central-valley-man-sentenced-to-more-than-7-years-in-prison-for-a-10-million-real-estate-fraud-scheme). Call your escrow or title officer at a number you already know before you wire money

• Extra jerky: a Pittsburgh fixer-upper listed at "$9,995" (as read on air by Ed)

No cheerleading. No doom. Just the truth, with a little seasoning.

Watch live Mon to Fri on Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube. More: www.edparcaut.com | @EdParcaut

Rates: no mortgage rate figures were read on air. Ed's comment that rates were worse on the day is his read of morning pricing. Daily rate index: Mortgage News Daily, Oct 19, 2026, https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/mortgage-rates. Ed's opinion, not financial advice.

Edward R. Parcaut, NMLS #235384, CA DRE #01077454. Lending For Living Inc, Real estate broker, California Department of Real Estate, NMLS #855360, CA DRE #01907016. Equal Housing Opportunity. This is not a commitment to lend. All loans are subject to credit approval, underwriting guidelines and program availability. NMLS Consumer Access: www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org