Head of WSJ’s real estate bureau is departing

Constance Mitchell Ford, who heads the global real estate and property bureau for The Wall Street Journal in New York, sent out the following message to some staff on Wednesday afternoon:

After more than 29 years at WSJ, I’ve decided it’s time to move on. No, I’m not being laid off,  I wasn’t asked to leave or pushed to take a buyout. I just decided recently that it’s a good time to try something different. I’m not leaving until the end of September, but there are so many rumors—some false—that I wanted to tell you now.

In an email to Talking Biz News, Ford wrote:

I’m not sure yet what I will do next but I will be looking at a variety of possibilities. I expect to remain an adjunct at Columbia teaching business and economics journalism, at least for the time being.

In the real of real estate and property bureau chief, she manages a  team of reporters who write about the business and financial aspects of residential and commercial real estate, which includes coverage of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; mortgage-backed securities; the housing market; home building companies; commercial landlords;  hotels; the real estate holdings of pension funds and investment firms; and Real Estate Investment Trusts.

Prior to her current position, Ford has held numerous other positions at The Journal, including economics editor and senior reporter covering credit markets and investment banking. Her team has won numerous awards for national, business and financial reporting; and Ford won a Scripps Howard Foundation award for stories about the subprime mortgage crisis.

A native of Washington, D.C., Ford has been invited to speak about the economy and real estate at numerous national and international events, including the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland; The Global Interdependence Center Conference in Dublin, Ireland;  The International Festival of Arts & Ideas in New Haven, Conn., the Global Summit of Women in Seoul, Korea, among others.