PRESS RELEASE: NAREE's 75th Annual Journalism Competition Winners
/PRESS RELEASE
NAREE's 75th Annual Journalism Competition Winners
National Association of Real Estate Editors Announces 2025 Journalism Competition Winners
New Orleans - (June 18, 2025) - The National Association of Real Estate Editors (NAREE) announced the winners of its 75th Annual Journalism Awards today. This prestigious competition recognizes excellence in reporting, writing, and editing stories about residential and commercial real estate.
The awards were announced at NAREE’s annual conference held at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans, Louisiana. A panel of expert judges from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University selected all winners. Medill’s Karen Springen chaired the panel. Here are NAREE’s 2025 winners with judges’ comments:
Platinum Award - Best Overall Entry by an Individual - Real Estate
Cecilia Reyes, Business Insider
“Locked Out”: “When renters get locked out, they may never get back in,” “Unprotected at the margins of the rental market”
Judges’ Comment: In her enterprising stories about illegal lockouts, Cecilia Reyes powerfully illustrates the toll of evictions on parents and children. She digs through data, including thousands of 911 calls, housing complaints and court records, to find evidence that suggests an increase in the number of people whose landlords throw them out or lock them out. Sometimes they even skirt laws by changing locks or shutting off utilities. Renters, who can’t get inside to get their work uniforms or cope with the pressure, can miss days on the job or even lose their employment. And their kids can end up skipping, or dropping out of, school. Reyes zooms in on individual people – and zooms out to show variations in state laws. In the process, she exposes an under-covered problem that potentially affects many Americans: Half of U.S. renters – more than 22 million households – face financial stress over housing costs.
President’s Award - Best Freelance Collection - Real Estate
Colette Coleman, Freelance Writer, The New York Times
“Beyond the Shortage: Stories of Different Groups’ Adaptations and Innovations Amid Housing Scarcity”: “Blaxit: Tired of Racism, Black Americans Try Life in Africa.” “For a Growing Number of Latinos, Home Buying Is a Family Affair.” “The Design Trend Taking Over Rural America.”
Judges’ Comment: The best reporters write articles that make readers say, “Wow. I didn’t know that.” In her real-estate stories for The New York Times, Colette Coleman tackles Black Americans finding new houses in Africa, Latino families combining incomes and making home-buying a multigenerational collaboration, and the popularity of “barndominiums” or “barndos” (a mashup of barns and condominiums). Coleman knows to just use quotes that are gems. For example, a project manager in the “barndo” world of open floor plans tells her, “People want to play basketball in their living room.” And a Black American who relocated from Harlem to Ghana says, “Here, we’re rich.” As she covers stories that matter, such as the “trans-Atlantic exodus,” she gives an expert class on how to surprise and delight readers.
Ruth Ryon Award - Best Young Journalist - Real Estate
Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times
“The Chaos of California’s Housing Market”: “Out-squatted: Handyman Flash Shelton will squat with your squatters - until they leave,” “An ambulance, an empty lot and a loophole: One man’s fight for a place to live,” “In the Mojave Desert, a gold rush sparks a mini real-estate boom for old mines”
Judges’ Comment: In his quirky, but important, stories, including one about a vigilante-style handyman and YouTuber known as the “Squatter Hunter,” Jack Flemming captures how owners and renters are navigating California’s chaotic housing market. With the landlords’ blessings, squatter-for-hire James Shelton moves into homes to drive away occupants who won’t leave. He dirties the bathroom, blasts music, “commandeers” the TV remote control and wears a hat that says, “Get Out.” Flemming shows how this unorthodox technique does the trick and helps owners frustrated with the legal system go rogue if they feel they can’t boot trespassers in a more traditional way. Through old-fashioned shoe-leather reporting, Flemming gives the reader an on-scene look at how people live. His pieces, including a story about a hippy-esque 30-year-old who lives in an ambulance, are never boring and always thought provoking.
Category 1: Kenneth R. Harney Award for Best Real Estate Consumer Education Reporting
Harney Winner: James Rodriguez, Business Insider
“The Brave New World of Homebuying”: “The end of the Realtor monopoly,” “’The biggest change in 100 years’,” “Inside the battle of America’s hidden homes”
Judges’ Comment: James Rodriguez knows how to explain complicated situations – like the National Association of Realtors’ $418 million settlement to end class-action lawsuits over agent commissions – in a conversational, easy-to-understand way. He uses, but never overuses, numbers, explaining that commissions hovered between 5% and 6% of the sales price for decades. He always explains what something means. In this case, the recent deal could push more buyers to forgo hiring an agent or to work out an alternate payment structure. Also, this settlement may not prevent a showdown between the NAR and the Department of Justice. But the new rules will force buyers to think about how their agents get paid. Rodriguez’s deep knowledge of the industry and his excellent Rolodex make it possible for him to educate consumers in an understandable, engaging way.
Category 2: Best Collection of Work by an Individual Covering Residential Real Estate
Gold Winner (tie): Sarah Rappaport, Bloomberg News
Collection Includes: “Freddie Mercury’s London Residence Lists at £30 Million,” “Inside Wytham Abbey, the £15 Million Castle Effective Altruism Must Sell,” “London’s Luxury Real Estate Developers Up the Ante with Botox, Wegovy”
Judges’ Comment: Sarah Rappaport knows how to cover the lifestyles of the rich and famous by looking in great depth at their homes. One example: To woo the well-heeled - luxury housing builders are going beyond fancy pools by offering over-the-top amenities like vitamin drips, Botox and weight-loss drugs via the residents’ services app. In another story, Rappaport looks at singer-songwriter Freddie Mercury’s London house, listed for £38 million by his longtime friend Mary Austin, who inherited it following the Queen star’s 1991 death. She delivers - telling details about the place, with its eight bedrooms and its Japanese-inspired garden. Finally, she looks at 500-year-old Wytham Abbey – another lux home for sale. Armchair quarterback? Try armchair high-end realtor.
Gold Winner (tie): Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times
Collection Includes: “An ambulance, an empty lot and a loophole: One man's fight for a place to live,” “Out-squatted: Handyman Flash Shelton will squat with your squatters - until they leave,” “In the Mojave Desert, a gold rush sparks a mini real-estate boom for old mines”
Judges’ Comment: Jack Flemming knows how to come up with offbeat story ideas – and then execute them with flair. He writes about a 30-year-old man who creatively gets around Southern California’s exorbitant housing prices by buying an ambulance and living in it, with a portable toilet stashed inside. He also reports on a guy who beats squatters at their game. And he heads to the Mojave Desert to look into a mini gold rush, fueled by the price of the precious metal soaring to an all-time high of $2,630 as of the story’s publication. Flemming finds compelling characters like Sean Tucker, who previously founded a deep-sea treasure hunting company that tried to find sunken treasures in shipwrecks off the coast of Colombia before switching to treasure buried in California. These pieces are thoroughly reported -- and thoroughly enjoyable to read.
Silver Winner: Aarthi Swaminathan, MarketWatch
Collection Includes: “The new battle in divorce: Who gets custody of the low mortgage rate?” “These sellers don’t want to pay 6% commissions – so they’re pushing back,” “They don’t make $1.8 million houses like they used to: Home inspectors use TikTok to reveal ‘shoddy’ new homes”
Judges’ Comment: Aarthi Swaminathan uses compelling examples, writing about how home inspectors are taking to TikTok to post videos of shoddy workmanship in hastily built new houses. Their fear-inducing clips show rotten wood, unanchored bathtubs and toilets not firmly rooted to the ground. Yikes. Another story explains how divorcing couples sometimes even stay in the same house, with one person in the basement, to keep their pandemic-era low interest rates. Using numbers, of course, Swaminathan shows that breaking up is hard to do -- especially when it means giving up rates of 2.8% and refinancing at 7%.
Bronze Winner: James Rodriguez, Business Insider
Collection Includes: “Our Zestimate Obsession,” “The Age of DumBro,” “Home Sellers Are Facing a Summer from Hell”
Honorable Mention (tie): Katherine Kallergis, The Real Deal
Collection Includes: “How Goldentayer’s game won her a top spot in Miami luxury real estate,” “‘Bloodbath of competition’: What could happen when Miami’s pipeline of condo-hotels is delivered,” “How David Martin plans to deliver the biggest project of his career”
Honorable Mention (tie): Julie Lasky, Freelance Writer, The New York Times
Collection Includes: “A Suitable Retreat in a Postwar Environment,” “A Finn’s Trove,” “Tucking Herself Into a Place That Has Everything”
Category 3: Best Collection of Work by an Individual Covering Commercial Real Estate
Gold Winner: Aaron Elstein, Crain’s New York Business
Collection Includes: “Helmsley Building heading to foreclosure,” “SL Green sees opportunity in office carnage,” “Midtown residents risk losing their homes as co-ops face ground lease renewal”
Judges’ Comment: Elstein’s work is an impressive collection of breaking news (he scooped the competition on the Helmsley Building foreclosure), as well as enterprise and contextual journalism. In “SL Green sees opportunity,” Elstein’s sources reveal the giant landlord’s aspirations in the troubled commercial sector, and he contextualizes it with critical numbers, such as the large number of short sellers in the stock. His story on the ground lease battle affecting Manhattan co-ops takes care to humanize those affected and does an excellent job explaining the byzantine ownership structure’s long history. Elstein’s writing is crisp and clear, and his sourcing is first-rate.
Silver Winner: Natalie Wong, Bloomberg News
Collection Includes: "'Billionaire Stephen Ross Believes in South Florida – and is Spending Big to Transform It,” “There’s Finally Hope for the Office Real Estate Market,” “Adam Neumann’s Latest Project is a WeWork Competitor”
Judges' Comment: Wong’s collection demonstrates her range, from sharp analysis that puts her readers ahead of the curve in the highly competitive commercial real estate market to a deeply reported look at the motivations behind billionaire Stephen Ross’s massive projects in West Palm Beach. Wong finds the pandemic-era flood of New York transplants tapering, and octogenarian Ross angling for an outside boost (such as a Vanderbilt University outpost) for what is most likely his capstone project. An eye for detail and smooth prose round out this winning collection.
Bronze Winner: Keith Larsen, The Real Deal
Collection Includes: “Inside the turmoil at Columbia’s Master of Science in Real Estate Development program,” “Behind the unraveling of Nir Meir,” “Riverside Abstract’s dedication to client service may have gone too far”
Honorable Mention: Lidia Dinkova, The Real Deal
Collection Includes: “‘Day of reckoning’: South Florida multifamily investors feel sting of rising interest rates, insurance,” “‘A lot of square footage’: Six office buildings are on tap in Miami Beach. Will all get leased?” “‘Miami has jumped the shark’: Analyzing South Florida’s office sales slump”
Category 4: Best Regular or Syndicated Real Estate Column
Gold Winner: Kirk Pinho, Crain's Detroit Business
“Skyscraper boom could have consequences for birds”
Judge’ Comment: Kirk Pinho calls attention to the threat posed by Detroit’s changing skyline to millions of birds whose migration paths cross the city. His column is a work of clarity and balance, weaving together explanations of birds’ seasonal movements, concerns of activists and environmentalists, and actionable practices that buildings can and should be taking to minimize bird collisions and deaths. He uses his column as a place to hold accountable specific buildings that pose the highest risks, calling on these members of the Detroit cityscape to help protect Detroit’s avian visitors.
Silver Winner: Julie Lasky, Freelance Writer, The New York Times
“Living Small” column - Collection Includes: “Maximizing Comfort in a Minimalist Space,” “They Found a Rare Species in the Catskills,” “Tucking Herself into a Place That Has Everything”
Judge’ Comment: Julie Lasky invites readers into the homes of people who have led lives as unique as their lodgings. With Lasky’s descriptive words woven with the use of quotes from the homeowners, there’s no need to imagine the look and feel of a 74-square-foot loft in Rotterdam, a 192-square-foot cabin in the Catskills and a 345-square-foot tiny house in North Carolina. But instead of simply holding us in voyeuristic awe of these people and their small patches of square footage, Lasky draws us in on what we all have in common: the search for a house that feels like home, no matter what that may look or feel like.
Bronze Winner: Robyn Friedman, Freelance Writer, The Wall Street Journal
“You Have Homeowners Insurance. Is It Enough to Rebuild Your House?”
Category 5: Best Economic Analysis - Real Estate
Gold Winner: Nicole Friedman, The Wall Street Journal
“Insurance and Taxes Now Cost More Than Mortgages for Many Homeowners”
Judges’ Comment: Friedman’s story, built on data analysis, reveals an alarming trend in home ownership: A growing number of people are paying more in taxes and insurance than for their mortgage. Miami and New Orleans are among the worst cities for this phenomenon, not surprisingly because of hurricanes and flooding, but so are Rochester, New York, and Syracuse, New York. Friedman’s storytelling is well-supported by data and experts, but her true gift is in the real people she finds, such as the Florida woman who wants out of her condo (and sky-high insurance premiums) but hasn’t been able to find a buyer. Friedman’s human touch demonstrates how an economic analysis can both inform and engage.
Silver Winner: Mike Wereschagin, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“Post-Gazette investigation: Pittsburgh’s budget on the brink in 2025”
Judges’ Comment: Wereschagin analyzes Pittsburgh’s worsening fiscal crisis through a comprehensive examination of city budget documents and tax records. What he finds is waning property tax revenue from troubled office high-rises and overly optimistic budget assumptions. Wereschagin breaks down the complex economic reality for readers in clear, well-written prose. He engages the reader right away by describing the impact of a proposed cut in police and emergency services overtime on popular parades and other city events. Strong visuals and graphics also help make this a winning story.
Bronze Winner: Paulina Cachero, Bloomberg News
“How Gen Z Ended Up in So Much Debt”
Honorable Mention: Matt Wasielewski, Bisnow
“Facing Billions in Budget Shortfalls, Cities Scramble for Solutions”
Category 6: Best Interior Design Story
Gold Winner: Sarah Paynter, The Wall Street Journal
“Champagne Bars, Tanning Booths and Revolving Shoe Racks: The $1 Million Closet Has Arrived”
Judges’ Comment: Yes, wealthy homeowners are dropping as much as $1 million on closets, including a two-story one with a spray-tan booth and an elevator. Sarah Paynter avoids passing judgment on anyone’s silk wallpaper or meditation areas. Instead, she uses her eyes and ears during interviews with people like Kimmie Turiansky, who hosts her girlfriends in her $120,000, 470-square-foot space – with amenities like a center island with a brass charging port for her Chanel handbag with an LED screen. She also tucks in details about guys, who apparently like leather finishes and places to store collections of 200 shoes (hip-hop promoter Damon Dash and singer Elton John). Like the best reporters, Paynter gets memorable quotes about everything from “closet-reveal parties” to metal mesh shelves that let shoes “breathe.”
Silver Winner: Amy Gamerman, Freelance Writer, Mansion, The Wall Street Journal
“He Didn’t Want to Move. So He Built a Small One in the Backyard.”
Judges’ Comment: Amy Gamerman knows a trend in the making. In this thoroughly reported piece, she showcases the latest luxury: an exquisite miniature house designed to complement the big one out front. Traditionally, homeowners built accessory dwelling units for aging parents or adult offspring. But now a growing number seem to be moving into the tiny houses, which are set on solid foundations and are equipped with plumbing, bathrooms, kitchens and washer-dryers. Full of anecdotes and real people, like the ADU-dwelling dad who gifted the big home to his 49-year-old daughter (“I said, ‘Do you want the house? You’re going to get it sooner or later.’”), this expertly crafted piece might make mansion builders think twice.
Bronze Winner: Emily Jensen, Business Insider
“Extreme Apartment Makeover”
Category 7: Best Architecture Story
Gold Winner: Amanda Abrams, Freelance Writer, The Intercept
“The Little-Known Reason Counties Keep Building Bigger Jails: Architecture Firms”
Judges’ Comment: Whoever heard of “justice architecture”? In this heartbreaking story, Amanda Abrams writes that architecture companies produce “feasibility studies” and “needs assessments” that inevitably assume a future with more inmates and recommend bigger jails – and then lobby to get the contracts to draw up the plans for them and use public funds to build them. They don’t seem to improve life for inmates. As she notes, the word “architect” might “conjure images of soaring ceilings and big windows.” But these firms are rarely creating innovative designs. So inmates, like a 41-year-old with a history of mental illness who went off his medication and quickly committed three robberies, wind up spending years behind bars in spaces ill-suited to help them.
Silver Winner: Anna Kodé, The New York Times
“The Fight to Save Googie, the Style of Postwar Optimism”
Judges’ Comment: This well-reported homage to old-school restaurants with huge, space-age neon signs designed to catch the attention of people driving by in cars captures why so many Americans are lamenting the loss of these wacky-looking places. The giant Arby’s cowboy hat exemplifies the style known as Googie, adopted by Southern California drive-ins, motels, donut shops and other roadside businesses during the 1940s through 1970s. She gives excellent historical context, noting height and size limits – and Lyndon Johnson’s 1965 “America the Beautiful” initiative that spread the idea that “commercial clutter” was taking over U.S. roads. Readers, are remaining Googie signs an eyesore -- or a nostalgic nod to a more fun, creative time?
Bronze Winner: James Rodriguez, Business Insider
“America Has a Serious Ugly Home Problem”
Honorable Mention (tie): Sarah Rappaport, Bloomberg News
“Party Barns Are the Hottest Amenity for UK’s Countryside Rich”
Honorable Mention (tie): Michele Lerner, Freelance Writer, Mansion Global
“Log Cabin Living – But Luxuriously”
Category 8: Best Residential Real Estate Story – Daily or Weekly Newspaper
Gold Winner: Debra Kamin, The New York Times
“The Homeowners Who Beat the National Association of Realtors”
Judges’ Comment: Medical reporters try to track down “patient zero” -- the first person to become infected with a disease. Debra Kamin finds the six ordinary home sellers in Missouri who took on the National Association of Realtors over its seemingly nonnegotiable rules on broker commissions, which they feel is unfair. One of them, a police officer, says his real estate agent quoted him a “law-enforcement special” of 5.5% and then charged him 6% anyway. Kamin knows the power of numbers and uses them effectively. One of the couples owed $107,000 on their mortgage, sold the house for $126,000, netted $18,000 – and then paid 40% of that amount to commissions for their agent and the buyer’s agent. As the owner says, “It was a hard pill to swallow that we were walking away with so little.” Solid reporting, and lots of it, pays off.
Silver Winner: Will Parker, The Wall Street Journal
“Dreading the Constable’s Knock in an Eviction Capital”
Judges’ Comment: In Phoenix, a popular, landlord-friendly city with high rents, constables for eviction courts remove people from their homes when they stop paying rent. Pandemic assistance programs are over, and local laws are on the side of owners who want to get their money promptly. As Will Parker notes, the time between late rent and an eviction filing in Arizona can be as few as five days. Evictions in the “Silicon Desert” make work for attorneys, locksmiths, moving and storage companies, and extended-stay hotels. Also effective: Parker’s use of one of the constables, a Republican who in a past life was evicted twice himself. It’s a haunting and riveting story.
Bronze Winner: Nicole Friedman, The Wall Street Journal
“The Hidden Costs of Homeownership Are Skyrocketing”
Honorable Mention (tie): Marissa Luck, Houston Chronicle
“Forget pools and home theaters. Whole-home generators are the new ‘must have’ for Houston mansions.”
Honorable Mention (tie): Robyn Friedman, Freelance Writer, The Boston Globe
“One Big, Happy Family: The Rise of Multigenerational Living in America”
Category 9: Best Residential Mortgage or Financial Real Estate Story – Daily or Weekly Newspaper
Gold Winner: Akiko Matsuda, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy, The Wall Street Journal
“Retirees’ Life Savings Can Vanish in Continuing Care Bankruptcies”
Judges’ Comment: When continuing care retirement communities fail financially, they put their residents and their heirs at risk of losing hefty, “fully refundable” entrance fee deposits. To illustrate how devastating this is, Akiko Matsuda zooms in on real seniors. One World War II veteran paid $145,000 to Henry Ford Village in suburban Detroit, which filed for bankruptcy, and his heirs learned they would recoup only $18,000 of it. His daughter calls it an “insult to the dignity and the integrity of a life well lived.” Matsuda also zooms out, explaining that 1,900 so-called continuing care or life-plan communities operate across the U.S. with 623,000 residents. After their retirement communities go belly up, seniors can lose their physical homes, their healthcare, and their life savings. Tragic.
Silver Winner: Jacob Geanous, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“‘Nobody Wants to Leave Their House’: Evictions jumped nearly 20% in Allegheny County in 2023”
Judges’ Comment: To show how the increase in evictions is devastating some Pittsburgh residents, Jacob Geanous turns to a reporter’s best tools: numbers and real people. The number of evictions filed in the county jumped nearly 20% in a year – from 11,115 in 2022 to 13,225 in 2023. Among them: a mom of five who found herself locked out of the federally subsidized apartment, where she lived for a decade, after she lost her job and failed to pay rent. As Geanous explains, unemployment and inflation intensified an already bad situation after the pandemic-era federal eviction moratorium ended in August 2021. Who suffers most? Communities of color.
Bronze Winner: Heather Senison, Freelance Writer, The New York Times
“One Family’s Road to Building a House Despite the Obstacles”
Honorable Mention: Richard Mize, The Oklahoman
“Homeowners Insurance Is Through the Roof in Oklahoma – and the Roof Might Not be Covered, Either”
Category 10: Best Commercial Real Estate Story - Daily or Weekly Newspaper
Gold Winner: Konrad Putzier, The Wall Street Journal
“The Real Estate Nightmare Unfolding in Downtown St. Louis”
Judges’ Comment: Putzier delves into the post-Covid remains of downtown St. Louis and writes compellingly about its self-perpetuating "doom loop." In a 15-block stretch, he meticulously mapped, there are two empty storefronts for every occupied one. He pulled cell phone data showing visits downtown are half what they were in 2019. Putzier knows what details will bring the story to life: An attorney complains his firm has no place to get lunch after the nearby Panera closed; signs warn visitors to “park in well-lit areas”; and a parking garage’s ceilings are crumbling, propped up by makeshift poles. The story’s beautiful photos and color-coded map help illustrate the decay.
Silver Winner: Oshrat Carmiel, Freelance Writer, New York Post
“How Canny Foreigners Are Investing Their Way Into a Green Card”
Judges’ Comment: Wealthy foreign investors have long used real estate investment as a fast track to getting a green card. But the $800,000 they used to invest in big city projects must now go to rural communities. Carmiel’s story is an intriguing look at some of the unexpected projects that have grown out of this change, including a religious Jewish community in Florida and a flour mill in Oregon. Carmiel talks to several developers who solicit funding for the ventures and finds it’s a booming area. The story is thoroughly reported, well-written and entertaining.
Bronze Winner: Brian J. Rogal, Chicago Tribune
“Financial crisis at Heartland Alliance leads to furloughs, program cuts and an attempt to sell hundreds of affordable housing units”
Honorable Mention: Daniel Geiger, Business Insider
“Luxury developer Michael Shvo has big plans. Bitter disputes and a soft real estate market threaten to thwart them”
Category 11: Best Residential Real Estate, Residential Mortgage or Financial Real Estate Magazine Story - General Circulation
Gold Winner: Robyn Friedman, Freelance Writer, Kiplinger Personal Finance
“Is a 55+ Community Right for You?”
Judges’ Comments: A big question for aging homeowners in an era of “active adult” communities: Should they stay, or should they go? Robyn Friedman lays out the pros and cons, using dollars and real seniors. One sixty-something couple, who sold their Silicon Valley house, bought into a North Carolina 55+ development and happily spends their days playing pickleball and going to happy hours and concerts. A couple who bought into a Washington state community love the on-site water aerobics and line dancing. It’s all low maintenance, with the homeowners’ association handling landscaping and snow removal. Always balanced, Friedman also spells out downsides, including rules that may limit how long grandkids can visit and HOA fees that may increase faster than expected. Her practical tips include considering a test drive known as a “stay and play weekend.”
Silver Winner: Prashant Gopal, Bloomberg Markets Magazine
“Empty Rentals Burn Vacation-Home Owners Near Florida’s Disney World”
Judges’ Comment: In this lively, richly reported story, Prashant Gopal looks at how investing in Mickey Mouse – in this case, properties near Walt Disney World -- isn’t always a sure bet. He zooms in on Kissimmee, the 21-square-mile Orlando suburb with over 30,000 Airbnbs and other short-term rentals, more than any other U.S. city. The old rock-bottom interest rates fueled a buying binge there. But now post-pandemic travel to places like Disney World is slowing, rental income is falling, and investors are questioning a strategy called BRRRR (for buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat). Gopal tracks down hope-springs-eternal types, like a guy who will “theme” a house with, say, a 10-foot “Transformers” robot replica. Enjoy.
Bronze Winner: Emily Landes, The Real Deal
“How Icon Emerged from the Ashes of Corcoran’s First Major Franchise, Global Living”
Category 12: Best Residential Real Estate Trade or B-to-B Magazine Story
Gold Winner: Kate Hinsche, The Real Deal
“The Last Piece of Paradise: Palm Beach Battles for Its Only Major Dev Site Left”
Judges’ Comment: In Palm Beach, “not in my backyard” takes on a whole new meaning. Kate Hinsche, a master of “show, don’t tell” storytelling, starts with the doomed tale of a 5.8-acre parcel – basically a parking lot --that would seem ripe for developing. Nope. Opponents to building an apparently well-conceived space with 37 residential units included Liza Pulitzer, the great-granddaughter of newspaper magnate Joseph Pulitzer. After all, as Hinsche captures in her tale, this is Palm Beach. Fewer than 2,500 homes sit on the 16-mile-long island, perhaps best known for its estates like Mar-a-Lago and for its status as home to the highest concentration of houses priced at $50 million or more. As Hinsche points out, neighboring West Palm Beach is happily embracing developers. Noted.
Silver Winner: Sheridan Wall, The Real Deal
“Can Ryan Serhant Scale a National Brokerage Built on His Personality?”
Judges’ Comment: Sheridan Wall captures the essence of Ryan Serhant, a TV star with an eponymous brokerage in New York and seven other states. How many brokers boast 2.2 million followers on Instagram or a reality show – in his case, “Owning Manhattan”? Wall details his legend, from his start as an AT&T hand model to his 19-episode run on “As the World Turns” to nine seasons on Bravo’s “Million Dollar Listing New York.” His “eat-sleep-sell” mentality seems exhausting (he worries about “not doing enough”), but Wall simply lays it out there rather than celebrating it or passing judgment. First-rate reporting.
Bronze Winner: Moira Ritter, CoStar News
“Hurricane Fallout Tests North Carolina Agents Working Through Home Buying Season’s New Reality”
Category 13: Best Commercial Real Estate Trade or B-to-B Magazine Story
Gold Winner: Rich Bockmann, The Real Deal
“Inside the Family Feud of the Multibillion-Dollar Sol Goldman Empire”
Judges’ Comments: Family feuds can make compelling yarns, and Rich Bochmann more than delivers in this deeply reported, “Succession-esque” tale about the four children of real-estate investor Sol Goldman. He pieces through trial testimony and court documents and interviews the key players. Sol Goldman’s will named his youngest daughter, Jane, and his son, Allan, who recently died of Parkinson’s, as his co-executors. Four decades later the family is in court. At stake: control of a $4 billion to $16 billion empire that includes properties like 96 Fifth Avenue. And of course, it’s complicated. For example, Sol Goldman begged his wife not to divorce him and scrawled on a yellow legal notepad that she would get a third of his fortune when he died if she stayed. And Sol Goldman’s daughter Amy, perhaps the world’s premiere vegetable gardener, most strongly opposes her sister Jane these days. It's screenplay material.
Silver Winner: Emma Whalen, The Real Deal
“Inside Jay Shidler’s Ground Lease Kingdom”
Judges’ Comment: Hawaii-based Jay Shidler likes to own the land beneath buildings – a business model used by the king of the islands that later became an American state. Extensive reporting makes it possible for reporter Emma Whalen to convincingly draw that comparison and to tell an intriguing tale about how Shidler uses this real-estate strategy. He’s a compelling character who has contributed $238 million in cash and ground leases to his alma mater, the University of Hawaii. It’s a kingly amount.
Bronze Winner (tie): Evelyn Lee, PERE
“Ryan Cotton’s Outsider Perspective”
Bronze Winner (tie): Jeff Shaw, Seniors Housing Business
“Development Lessons from Abroad”
Category 14: Best Online Residential, Mortgage or Financial Real Estate Story
Gold Winner: Deborah Kearns, Freelance Writer, RISMedia
“Mortgage Industry Exodus: ‘Nearly Half’ of Producing Loan Officers Have Left the Business”
Judges’ Comment: Deborah Kearns shines a spotlight on mortgage loan officers as thousands have been laid off in the past few years. She balances data giving a macro look at the challenges facing the industry alongside personal anecdotes of loan officers trying to navigate the uncertainties of the real estate industry in terms of their own careers and livelihoods. She clearly shows how the overlapping pressures of higher interest rates, low housing industry and concentration of business in the hands of the top loan originators creates a “no-win situation” for those not at the top, who turn to multiple side gigs or exit the industry entirely.
Silver Winner: Kate Wood, NerdWallet
“What the Fed’s Rate Cutting Plans Mean for the Housing Market”
Judges’ Comment: Kate Wood clearly broke down for buyers and homeowners looking to refinance or sell how the Federal Reserve’s cuts could affect them, not just in the immediate aftermath of the cut but as the domino effects for the market play out. Wood brings in experts as well as takes data from recent historical trends to give those looking to buy, sell or refinance the information they need to decide the best path for them.
Bronze Winner: Libertina Brandt, The Wall Street Journal
“Public Beach or Private? Homeowners in Florida Draw a Line in the Sand”
Honorable Mention: Andrew Dehan, Bankrate
“How Generative AI Is Changing The Mortgage Process”
Category 15: Best Online Commercial Real Estate Story
Gold Winner: Ethan Rothstein, Maddy McCarty and Jarred Schenke, Bisnow
“A VC-Backed Startup Turned Houses into Stocks. Its Bets Are Failing, Leaving Its Tenants and Investors in Limbo”
Judges’ Comment: Rothstein, McCarty and Schenke were ahead of the curve on this exceptional story about fractional real estate company Landa, a start-up that sold investors small shares in properties and claimed it was “democratizing” home ownership. Later, many of those investors couldn’t access their money or get answers from Landa. The reporters visited properties and talked to tenants, who said the homes offered cheap rent but weren’t maintained. Schenke’s photos helped document the abandoned and neglected properties. Meticulously reported and well-written, the story proved prescient, as a judge later ordered Landa to divest more than 100 properties that were mismanaged and in default.
Silver Winner: Patrick Clark and Prashant Gopal, Bloomberg News
“Why NYC Apartment Buildings Are on Sale Now for 50% Off”
Judges’ Comment: Clark and Gopal detail the impact of new (2019) rent-control restrictions on New York City landlords in this deeply reported story. Their findings are dramatic: Rent-controlled buildings have lost an estimated $75 billion in value, a sharp reversal of their big gains under the old rules. Landlords, no longer rewarded for their efforts, have stopped upgrading the buildings. Some have sold their buildings, sometimes for half what they paid, while others have stopped renting out their units altogether. Clark and Gopal provide a nuanced analysis and history of rent control, and interview tenants who count on the reduced-rate digs.
Bronze Winner: Emily Wishingrad and Jon Banister, Bisnow
“’Shocking’ Plunge in Office Values Reveals Depth of D.C.’s Looming Economic Crisis”
Honorable Mention: Matt Wasielewski, Bisnow
“The Average Appraiser is Aging Out of the Workforce. A Crippling Labor Shortage Looms”
Category 16: Best Real Estate E-Newsletter Editor
Gold Winner: Katharine Carlon, Maddy McCarty, and Billy Wadsack, Bisnow
The Texas Tea
Judges’ Comment: This conversational newsletter is like sitting down across from a friend or neighbor to discuss and dissect the latest neighborhood gossip. It tackles the biggest headline news of the area with nuanced commentary and shares the best of Bisnow with appetite-whetting, quick-hitting blurbs full of context that make readers want to click on the link and get the whole story. The calendar at the end of the newsletter is a nice touch that nods to the sense of community this newsletter is cultivating.
Silver Winner: Steph Kukuljan, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Brick City
Judges’ Comment: Brick City offers St. Louis a consistent, reliable rundown of the most important stories affecting the local real estate market. Kukuljan’s news judgment shines through the selection of top stories, a sharp and surgical breakdown of an ongoing saga of reinvestment in north St. Louis and the handy “reporter’s notebook” highlighting interesting odds and ends. It has established itself as a must-read of STL real estate news.
BRONZE: Greg Dool, PERE
Blueprint
Category 17: Best Audio Real Estate Report – Online or Broadcast – Podcast or Radio – local, network, subscription or internet channels
Gold Winner: Stephanie Ricca, Hotel News Now
“Tell Me More: A Hospitality Data Podcast”
Judges’ Comment: The best podcasts make the listener feel like they’re part of the conversation. Ricca hits the mark in this deep dive into hotel and travel trends featuring three guests and lots of valuable insights. A guest from Expedia identifies trends for 2025, such as Gen Z’s booming affinity for all-inclusive resorts. Ricca’s engagement with her guests, easy banter and well-placed questions help to break up potentially dense material. Strong production values round out this winner.
Silver Winner: Jordana Rothberg, Multi-Housing News
“MHN: Top Marketers: The Psychology of Marketing”
Judges’ Comment: Rothberg is a skilled host who engages warmly with her guest, a respected multi-family marketer who is full of tips for getting desirable tenants to commit. From ending every email with a question (to encourage more communication) to urging potential tenants to touch everything during property tours, this podcast offers actionable advice for marketers, with a psychological twist. Rothberg knows what will keep the listener on the hook and delivers it with strong production values and professionalism.
Bronze Winner: Sarah Wheeler, Housing Wire Daily
“Logan Mohtashami on Mortgage Rates Under a Trump Presidency”
Honorable Mention: Paul Rosta, Commercial Property Executive
“Investment Matters: Forging Development Success”
Category 18: Best Video Real Estate Report Online or Broadcast – Streaming or Television – local, network, subscription or internet channel
Gold Winner: Jared Kofsky, Maia Rosenfeld, Steve Osunsami, Howard Tate, Steve Senn, Mike Ladisa, Stephen Mucci, Steve Widner, Sabrina Cedeno-Tobon, Cindy Galli, and Eric Ortega, ABC News and ABC Owned Television Stations
“Our Inheritance is Washing Away: Shiloh Revisited”
Judges’ Comment: ABC's prime-time video story follows up on their previous investigation into flooding on land in Alabama after a new state highway was built. The land, owned for the past 150 years by 12 Black families, floods repeatedly when it rains, but the state refuses to acknowledge the flooding has anything to do with the new highway just yards away. The news coverage prompts then-Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to visit, and ABC tags along. The story’s compelling characters make viewers care about a far-flung community and root for a solution.
Silver Winner: Michelle Jarboe, News 5 Cleveland (WEWS)
“’Just providence.’ There’s a plan to save two historic mansions on Cleveland’s East Side”
Judges’ Comment: Two old mansions are the last survivors on a Cleveland street in a once-deemed “bad neighborhood.” The local preservation society is raising money to restore them. Jarboe tells that story, but it’s wrapped in the more poignant tale of how the owner, Frances May, fought hard to earn landmark status for the homes to ensure their survival after her death. One of May’s sons visits the house with Jarboe to reminisce and to view items May collected for a future museum in the home. The story is beautifully crafted and makes good use of historic photos, music and graphics.
Bronze Winner: Francisco Alvarado, Nicole Guillen, and Sydnee Bursik, The Real Deal
“How Wynwood became Miami’s hottest neighborhood”
Honorable Mention: Jesse Williams, RISMedia
“Brokers Expect Post-Election Sales Jump, With Rates Dependent on Outcome”
Category 19: Best Breaking Real Estate News Story
Gold Winner: Patrick Clark, Natalie Wong, and Diana Li, Bloomberg News
“A $560 Billion Property Warning Hits Banks From NY to Tokyo”
Judges’ Comment: This collaboration between reporters in the U.S. and Japan took overnight breaking news of New York Community Bancorp’s and Tokyo-based Aozora Bank’s stocks plunging and reported with an eye beyond just the immediate effects on the market. They showed how various factors such as increased regulation and fearful investors were keeping the commercial real estate market in a state of precarity that would have ramifications beyond just the troubled office market. Their work painted a picture of a complex web with no easy fix and warned of the possibility of long-reaching effects.
Silver Winner: Katherine Kallergis and Sheridan Wall, The Real Deal
“Lawsuits accuse top broker Oren Alexander, brother Alon of rape”
Judges’ Comment: This story broke the news of lawsuits accusing a top broker and his twin brother of rape. Katherine Kallergis and Sheridan Wall untangled the series of cases stacking up against Oren and Alon Alexander, giving context and nuance to the headlines and stories that have proliferated since on the Alexander brothers. The story broke down the lawsuits, explaining both the allegations and the legal implications in New York, where the suits were filed, showing sound news judgment on which details to include.
Bronze Winner: Maddy McCarty, Bisnow
“$384M In Houston Multifamily Properties Set For Auction Block Tuesday As Distress Mounts”
Honorable Mention: Kirk Pinho, Kurt Nagl, David Eggert, Crain's Detroit Business
“RenCen plan would demolish 2 towers — but it hinges on public money”
Category 20: Best Investigative Report or Investigative Series - Real Estate
Gold Winner: Lizzie Kane and Talia Soglin, The Chicago Tribune
“Verbal abuse, a ‘sex-driven’ culture: Ex-employees describe toxic environment at Guaranteed Rate”
Judges’ Comment: Lizzie Kane and Talia Soglin’s in-depth reporting on employees’ experiences working for residential mortgage company Guaranteed Rate uncovered a toxic culture characterized by verbal abuse and misogyny. Kane and Soglin interviewed dozens of former employees and reviewed court records, internal company emails, exit interviews and text messages, meticulously piecing together a picture of a workplace environment that affected employees’ mental health and led many to quit, despite a public-facing employee-wellness campaign toted by the company. Kane and Soglin make it easy to follow the many layers of their investigation, a showcase of masterful and meticulous reporting.
Silver Winner: Jason Hidalgo, Reno Gazette-Journal
Series Includes: “Families say misplaced headstones and poor upkeep at Mountain View Cemetery compounded their grief,” “Conflict over Reno’s only Muslim cemetery test the area’s Muslim community”
Judges’ Comment: Jason Hidalgo uncovers a pattern of mismanagement and conflict at a Reno cemetery that serves the local Muslim community. He shines a spotlight on problems, such as bodies being moved to different spots in the cemetery, poor upkeep, extra fees being charged and headstones being lost or misplaced — that is, placed on the wrong graves. Hidalgo contextualizes the significance to the community of having a dedicated Muslim cemetery, explaining the traditions of Muslim burials and increased ability of families to visit their loved ones. His reporting creates a multi-dimensional picture, highlighting both the personal and legal ramifications of this conflict.
Bronze Winner: Sydnee Chapman Gonzalez, Freelance Writer, The Utah Investigative Journalism Project
Series Includes: “Utah in danger of losing hundreds of affordable housing units in next few years” The Utah Investigative Journalism Project & KSL.com; “St.George complex among hundreds of affordable housing units expiring in the next few years” St George News; “Ogden complexes among hundreds of affordable housing units expiring in the next few years” The Standard-Examiner.
Honorable Mention: Alex Nitkin, A.D. Quig, and Cam Rodriguez - Chicago Tribune and Illinois Answers Project
Series Includes: “Luxury Home or Vacant Lot? Cook County Assessor Misclassifies Hundreds of Properties, Missing $444M in One Year Alone,” “How We Reported on Cook County Assessment Errors” Illinois Answers Project; “Misclassifications, missed millions,” “How much have county assessors back taxed?” “How we reported on assessment errors” Chicago Tribune.
Category 21: Best Multi-Platform Package or Series - Real Estate
Gold Winner (tie): Caroline Spivack, Crain’s New York Business
“Subway & Retail SOS”
Judges’ Comment: Spivack’s story is a visually stunning data-driven investigation of the mall spaces beneath the New York City subway in Manhattan. They’re 80% vacant, worse than the worst-performing shopping malls, Spivack finds, while transit ridership has mostly rebounded after Covid-19. She interviews transit experts who say the dark, empty spaces make riders feel unsafe. The story is layered with historical and international context alongside a vertical timeline dotted with text, numbers, video, photos and pull-quotes that add a wonderful sense of discovery to the reader’s experience. It’s an impressive piece of work.
Gold Winner (tie): Marissa Luck and Amelia Winger, The Houston Chronicle
Series Includes: “Houston is filled with empty office buildings no one wants. Why aren’t more turned into housing?” “How $100M turned a vacant downtown Houston highrise office into luxury apartments,” “Why converting offices to apartments won’t save a broken office market in Houston”
Judges’ Comment: Empty office buildings beg the question – what will become of them? Luck and Winger attempt to answer that question for Houston’s empty buildings in this outstanding series of stories. Costs are steep, but the city could provide tax incentives, developers tell them. One of the stories allows the reader to scroll over a floor plan of an office to see how it can transform into residential units. Another explores a recently converted property that’s succeeded. Luck and Winger leave few stones unturned in this deeply reported series, and their writing style is clear and accessible.
Silver Winner: Natalie Wong and Patrick Clark, Bloomberg News
“The Brutal Reality of Plunging Office Values is Here”
Judges’ Comment: Wong and Clark surveyed the state of the U.S. office building market as deals resumed post-Covid 19, and produced a compelling story that’s impressive in both scope and depth. With more than $1 trillion in commercial real estate loans coming due, property owners must either default or sell buildings for a fraction of what they paid. With nuance and context and plenty of detail, Wong and Clark write coherently about the reckoning. An explainer video further articulates the issue with high-quality production values, writing and interviews.
Bronze Winner: Jonathan LaMantia and Jasmine Anderson, Newsday
“Why Long Island homebuyers can’t catch a break in a market where prices are up 86% in 10 years”
Category 22: Best Real Estate Data Journalism Reporting
Gold Winner: Ronda Kaysen and Ethan Singer, The New York Times
“Millions of Movers Reveal American Polarization in Action”
Judges’ Comment: Ronda Kaysen, Ethan Singer and the graphics team literally show what happens when people who are Democrat and Republican relocate from more politically balanced neighborhoods to ones that are more red or more blue – that is, more ideologically homogenous. (Independents choose more balanced places.) Kaysen and Singer sift through extensive data, including voter-registration records, and interview many movers to show how partisanship plays a powerful role when Americans uproot and find a new home. This widens the gap between blue and red communities. In essence, as this fascinating story and its compelling visuals show, it seems Americans’ home is increasingly where both their hearts and the members of their political party are.
Silver Winner: Nicole Friedman and Alana Pipe, The Wall Street Journal
“Boomers Buying Houses Had It Bad in the ‘80s. Millennials Have It Worse.”
Judges’ Comment: It’s official: The environment for buying a home is even worse today than in the 1980s. Back then, mortgage rates were even higher. Yet the supply was bigger. Nicole Friedman and Alana Pipe show with numbers why millennials and Gen Zers feel frustrated as they cross their fingers for more home building. The Wall Street Journal team finds the data, crunches it, shows it in charts and clearly explains it in this thoroughly reported numbers-heavy story. Yes, it’s true that the median age of first-time and repeat buyers is getting older and older. And it’s true that the inventory of single-family homes for sale is down. Interestingly, the popularity of adjustable-rate mortgages is plummeting. Boomers who felt the pinch in the ‘80s may feel lucky after they see this story.
Bronze Winner (tie): Kate Hinsche and Adam Farence, The Real Deal
“The Miami Paradox”
Bronze Winner (tie): Carmen Arroyo, Natalie Wong, Aaron Gordon and Christopher Cannon, Bloomberg News
“The Commercial Real Estate Crash Is Battering Even the Safest Bonds”
Honorable Mention: Frank Kummer, Kevin Riordan, Jake Blumgart, Joseph N. DiStefano, and Erin McCarthy, The Philadelphia Inquirer.
“Millions of square feet of warehouses have dramatically altered the Philly area. Towns are starting to push back.”
Category 23: Best International Real Estate Story
Gold Winner: Colette Coleman, Freelance Writer, The New York Times
“Blaxit: Tired of Racism, Black Americans Try Life in Africa”
Judges’ Comment: Colette Coleman weaves together the stories of Black Americans who have relocated to Africa, building homes and living in places without the deep-rooted racism and discrimination they faced in the U.S. Coleman crafts, with care, a complex look at what changes for these families after their move - from their material situations, to the psychological effects, to navigating new tensions that arise. These unique perspectives add dimension to our understanding of the challenges still facing and remaining unaddressed in American society.
Silver Winner: Mark Faithfull and Mike Phillips, Bisnow
“The Green Building Certification System Is Worth Billions — But It Isn't Helping”
Judges’ Comment: Mark Faithfull and Mike Phillips explore the business behind green building certification as it experiences a “golden age.” Their reporting shows how the certification system, meant to award and encourage buildings and companies to aim for sustainability, is failing at helping the real estate industry cut carbon. A bloated system and varying standards for what constitutes a net-zero building have not helped the process. But Faithfull and Phillips don’t stop there — they identify ways to improve the system and make it more effective, shining a light on a possible path forward.
Bronze Winner: Michele Lerner, Freelance Writer, Green Builder Media
“Should I Expat to Own a Home?”
Category 24: Best Team Report - Real Estate
Gold Winner: Madeline Berg and Dan Latu, Business Insider
“Homes on billionaire hot spot Nantucket are falling into the ocean at an alarming rate – but the wealthy won’t stop buying”
Judges’ Comment: Berg and Latu set out to explain why Nantucket remains a magnet for the ultra-wealthy despite erosion that threatens its multimillion-dollar homes. The story is full of colorful anecdotes and quotes (“..once the septic falls in, it’s a pretty shitty situation”) from residents who gamely stay put. The story soars on such tidbits as a local golf club applying for a demolition permit “in case,” and a coastal home selling for $600,000 instead of the $2.3 million asking price. Meanwhile, a real estate agent worries the industry isn’t doing enough to warn potential buyers. Berg and Latu do a masterful job with this schadenfreude-esque story.
Silver Winner: Teri Errico Griffis and David Slade, The Post and Courier
“Charleston-area employers are buying property to house workers. Could this become a trend?”
Judges’ Comment: Responding to a tip, Griffis and Slade discovered a surprising trend in the Charleston area. A few employers, including the owner of a pharmacy, were buying homes and then renting them to employees at a reduced rate. The reporting duo drilled down on the area’s high cost of housing amid a shortage of affordable homes and found examples in other South Carolina communities, such as Hilton Head, where employer-subsidized housing was taking hold. The story is comprehensive, packed with examples and supporting data, and ahead of the curve.
Bronze Winner: Zachary Hansen and Drew Kann, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Georgia wanted to attract more data centers. Now it needs more power.”
Honorable Mention: Lillian Dickerson and Taylor Anderson, Inman News
“Jason Oppenheim identified as mystery broker in kickback plot”
Category 25: Best Design, Home or Shelter Magazine
Gold Winner: Pete Catapano, Mansion Global
Experience Luxury
Judges’ Comments: This high-end magazine covers lifestyles of the rich and famous with panache. Beautifully photographed, well-reported pieces about multimillion-dollar log cabins and mansions jutting off the side of a cliff are par for the course in this publication. It’s written and edited with panache and clever headlines, including, “Living Like Lincoln – But Luxuriously.” The ads are gorgeous as the editorial pages, and that’s part of the fun and charm of this coffee-table winner. Curl up with Mansion Global and browse through sale listings for properties such as the $37.8 million Sullivan Estate in Hawaii. And then flip back to a story about “wellness” travel to retreats in Bali and New Mexico. This guilty pleasure is decadent and delightful.
Category 26: Best Residential Real Estate - Trade Magazine
Gold Winner: Stuart Elliot, Editor-in-Chief; Cara Eisenpress, Features Editor; Sheridan Wall, Cover Story Reporter and the TRD Staff , The Real Deal
August 2024 issue
Judges’ Comments: The Real Deal knows how to both inform and entertain. It’s hard to resist flipping ahead to “Dirty Deeds: This month in real estate crime and punishment” and reading about an armed, tattooed investor fleeing arrest in Los Angeles. But all the sections are interesting and well named, including “Comings & Goings,“ “Obituaries,” and “In Their Words.” In this issue, TRD tackles “Which Side of the Aisle” – a look at the outspoken, big-spending political players in real estate. It's timely and intriguing. (Trump gets more real-estate donations than Harris.) Other strong pieces: a ranking of LA’s top brokers and a cover about TV star broker Ryan Serhant. It’s a high-quality, hard-to-stop-reading, dishy magazine.
Silver Winner: Paige Tepping, RISMedia Real Estate magazine
February 2024 issue
Judges’ Comments: This magazine gives agents and brokers what they need to know, under sections called “headliners,” “coaching,” “team talk,” “business builders” and “trends and issues.” It also highlights newsmakers, like CoStar founder and CEO Andy Florance, who recently started a big homes.com marketing campaign. The magazine runs a Q&A with a young woman realtor with a side gig as a “golf content creator” – and another Q&A with the president and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices’ New York Properties’ New York City brokerage. It also gives its readers good “news you can use.” For example, a Q&A called “Tips for Talking to Potential Buyer Clients About Commissions” talks about being open about not working for free and about bringing up and explaining the NAR lawsuits. The “hall of fame” profiles also seem like a must-read for people in the industry.
Bronze Winner: Matt Power and Alan Naditz, Green Builder magazine
May-June 2024 issue
Category 27: Best Commercial Real Estate - Trade Magazine
Gold Winner: Stuart Elliot, Editor-in-Chief; Cara Eisenpress, Features Editor; Keith Larsen, Cover Story Reporter and the TRD Staff, The Real Deal
April 2024 issue
Judges’ Comment: The arresting cover line, “Real Estate’s Rasputin,” is classic for The Real Deal, which zeroes in on colorful characters whose stories illustrate larger issues in the industry. (In this case, Nir Meir lived a life of luxury and chaos and wound up at Rikers Island.) TRD is irreverent, in the best way. A regular two-page spread called “In Their Words” shows photos of real-estate newsmakers along with pull quotes from them. As a good industry magazine should, it also includes explainers, including one on why the NAR settled its antitrust lawsuit and what it means. In classic fashion, it also looks at the winners and losers. TRD is never dull, which wonderfully extends to its headlines (“Big Bad Wolfe: Dallas Syndicator Kenny Wolfe may have blown his own house down when he took on office-to-resi conversion”). Read it cover to cover, learn a lot, and smile at the skillful reporting, writing and cleverness.
Silver Winner: Randall Shearin, Shopping Center Business
May 2024 issue
Judges’ Comments: This monthly may seem niche (it is, after all, focused on shopping centers), but it’s fascinating, well reported and well executed. A cover story on Ovation, a planned 80-acre, upscale, mixed-use center in Orlando for adult travelers and locals, explains plans for different themed “zones.” (Zone 5, for example, will be nightlife.) Another piece looks at lessons learned for urban areas from three mixed-use developments in Georgia. And yet another one peeks at that mall staple, Wetzel’s Pretzels, and its new concept, Twisted by Wetzel’s. And as it should, this industry publication includes nuts-and-bolts news about, for example, a new, 135,000-square-foot Target in Provo, Utah, in “Newsline,” and about, for example, a new Freddy’s Frozen Custard airport location in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in “Retail News.” A sign of this magazine’s vibrance: Its 133 pages, including ads.
Bronze Winner: Charlotte D’Souza, Evelyn Lee, Harrison Connery, Jonathan Brasse, Christie Ou, Stuart Watson, Sarah Marx, Lucy Scott, Guelda Voien, PERE
September 2024 issue
Category 28: Best Real Estate Newsletter Issue - Digital or Print
Gold Winner: Heather Stone and Glenn Demby, Fair Housing Coach
July 2024 issue
Judges’ Comment: In this newsletter, Fair Housing Coach tackled the discriminatory issues that come with using AI-based services to screen potential tenants. The pages are filled with explanations of how the tenant-screening industry has increasingly turned to artificial intelligence, how discrimination still seeps through AI and what landlords can do to ensure they are not falling into this pattern of discrimination. It is a robust guide full of detailed best practices and additional tips to help landlords navigate this murky and evolving landscape.
Silver Winner: Kathryn Brenzel, The Real Deal
“The Daily Dirt: Broker-fee bill, brought to you by TikTok”
November 2024 issue
Judges’ Comment: Kathryn Brenzel delivers a conversational and informative newsletter to subscribers’ inboxes. She combines the tone of columnist and reporter as she breaks down the influence of TikTok on the passage of a City Council bill. On one hand she’s the slightly befuddled Millennial who prefers Instagram, on the other she’s pressing council members for more context on how the bill came together and explaining the next hurdles it would need to clear to become law. The rest of the newsletter is a quick-hitting scroll through the more tidbits of New York real estate news, balancing importance with piquing interest.
Bronze Winner: Randy Plavajka, PERE Credit
“Term Sheet”
October 2024 issue
Category 29: Best Newspaper Real Estate or Home Section
Gold Winner: Nikita Stewart and the NYT Staff, The New York Times
“The Renters Issue”
Judges’ Comment: The New York Times’ Renters Issue is a wonderfully curated collection of stories bursting with information for the city’s renters and those contemplating buying. The pages hold a balance of practical advice, personal anecdotes and profiles, and features full of photos showing beautifully lived-in spaces — the place people call home. It is a rich archive of the breadth of renters’ experiences.
Silver Winner: Heather Halberstadt, The Wall Street Journal
“Mansion”
Judges’ Comment: The Wall Street Journal’s Mansion brings together a wide array of real estate stories from around the world, but they all feel at home in this gracefully laid-out section that manages to prioritize both the written words and stunning visuals. Where else can you stroll through Parisian neighborhoods, then turn a page and land in Texas? Take a tour through Tom Ford’s real estate portfolio, then learn about the effects of a landslide in Wyoming and Idaho?
Bronze Winner: Lois Weiss, Steve Cuozzo, Christopher Cameron, Christopher Bunting, and Anissa Lorenzi Boukourizia, New York Post
“October Commercial Real Estate Special”
Category 30: Best Real Estate Web Site
Gold Winner: Stuart Elliott, Jerry Sullivan, Ina Cordle, Ellen Cranley, Erik Engquist, Cara Eisenpress, Caysey Welton, Rachel Stone, Joel Russell, Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt, The Real Deal
Judges’ Comment: The Real Deal is a consistently rich repository of real estate news. It serves as a home for everything from quick hits to deep dives, covering all corners of the industry. The visually appealing site orders this deluge of information in clearly marked sections and labels, so users can either easily find what they’re looking for or scroll leisurely through to peruse all the offerings.
Silver Winner: Pete Catapano, Mansion Global
Judges’ Comment: Mansion Global is a destination real estate website that uses its space to highlight beautiful homes and locations to devastating effect. The clean, crisp design and enjoyable user experience makes navigating this website a pleasure. One must find the will to stop flipping through the gorgeous photos featured in the listings, but the creative columns and peeks into celebrity homes are up to the task.
Bronze Winner: Jennifer White Karp, Celia Young, and Evelyn Battaglia, Brick Underground