The problem with most real estate coverage

Alissa Quart writes for Columbia Journalism Review about the problem with the way many publications cover real estate.

Quart writes, “For decades, this sort of material has been both amusing and the source of ad dollars for the publications that ran them. But this sort of fare is also a potential lost opportunity: these sorts of pieces could contain more complex details or critical perspectives, but often do not.

“‘When you look at the way that real estate news is cast in mainstream papers, it’s as if it’s for investors,” says Miriam Axel-Lute who runs a nonprofit devoted to media about community development and housing, Shelterforce. The Wall Street Journal’s Real Estate section, for example, is filled with headlines like ‘Entity Tied to Pampered Chef Founder Pays $26.875 Million for Nantucket Home’ or a multimillion dollar ‘dacha’ in ‘rural Indiana.’

“What’s left out are not only stories about housing insecurity but also affordable housing in general.  ‘Real estate is not just large owners and developers,’ says Axel-Lute. ‘It’s also refinancing, foreclosures, modest homeowners, anyone who has a home or wants a home,’ she says.”

Read more here.