Real estate journalism award winners announced

The National Association of Real Estate Editors announced the winners of its 66th Annual Journalism Awards, recognizing excellence in reporting, writing and editing stories about residential and commercial real estate.

Josh Salman, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, received NAREE’s Platinum Award for Best Individual Entry.

The President’s Gold Award for Best Freelance Collection went to Ken Harney of the Washington Post Writers Group. Ralph Bivins of Realty News Report, earned the Silver Award and Eugene Meyer, freelance writer, New York Times, took the Bronze.

Konrad Putzier of The Real Deal was the Gold Award Winner of the Ruth Ryon Award for Best Young Journalist for reporters 30 years old and younger. Nick Nehemas, Miami Herald, won the Silver Award in the Young Journalist category. The Bronze Award went to Greg Vellante, TecHome Builder.

Here are the winners:

Best Overall Individual Entry

Platinum Award Winner: Josh Salman, Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Judge’s Comment on Platinum Winner: “The reporter exposed a government program, known as the EB-5 visa, which was prone to international corruption. His investigation not only touched on real estate but matters of national security. Mining a treasure trove of 50 interviews, thousands of court cases, and property records, which resulted in building an impressive data base, the story led on the following day to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announcement to crack down on EB-5 enforcement.”

President’s Award for Best Freelance Collection

Gold Winner: Ken Harney, The Washington Post Writers Group

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “This columnist is a strong advocate of readers. Whether he is writing about Zillow’s ‘Zestimates,’ possible unethical practices by real estate agents, or hackers who get personal information that could affect those claiming a mortgage exemption, he always gives helpful, and in many cases valuable, advice. His work stands tall in real estate journalism.”

Ruth Ryon Award for Best Entry by a Young Journalist

Gold Winner: Konrad Putzier, The Real Deal

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “This reporter is comfortable covering a wide variety of stories, from the sale of high-cost properties to crowdfunding to a comparison of upscale properties in New York City to London and Hong Kong. The judges particularly applaud his story that revealed a $144 million “loan” to the Blackstone Group, which was announced by the New York City mayor, was really a freebie that the company would never have to pay back. That was a great piece of journalism.”

Category 1: Best Collection of Work by an Individual Covering Residential Real Estate

Gold Winner: Michelle Jarboe, The Plain Dealer

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “This reporter offers solid, interesting writing on a wide range of stories from the super wealthy to rust belt carcasses. Particularly standing out was a story about the prices of rental homes in Cleveland for the Republican National Convention this summer. She provides context and detail with hotlinks and maps.”

Category 2: Best Collection of Work by an Individual Covering Commercial Real Estate

Gold Winner: Eugene Meyer, Freelance Writer, The New York Times

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “The writer demonstrated his versatility in covering the changing real estate face of Washington. Stories included the changing demographics of a neighborhood, a broad development plan near Union Station, and a controversy that has divided a neighborhood over what may or may not be a historic site worth saving. He incorporated a deep knowledge of Washington history into most of his stories.”

Category 3: Best Column

Gold Winner: Ken Harney, Washington Post Writers Group

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “This column brought new meaning to buyers beware—real estate agents may not show houses if they are offered subpar commissions. This is probably under the radar of most home buyers because real estate agents do not want to talk about it. And yet, the columnist got some agents to justify this practice.”

Category 4: Best Economic Analysis

Gold Winner: Jason Blevins, Denver Post

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “This was a detailed analysis of what happens when communities are deluged with property conversions as homeowners react to the home away from home vacation trend. It was filled with stories of real people and backed up with compelling data. The reporter discussed how communities are reacting to what is occurring, including the possibility of passing new legislation.”

Category 5: Best Interior Design Story

Gold Winner: Amy Gamerman, The Wall Street Journal

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “This story was so much fun—if you do not want to have a party barn, something is wrong with you. The reporter documented the transformation of old souls to belles of the ball across the country. Photographs invited readers in and put them on the dance floor.”

Category 6: Best Photo by a Real Estate Journalist

Gold Winner: Sam Black, Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “In a photograph reminiscent of the movie ‘The Revenant,’ the journalist showed a gloomy, snow-covered housing tract on the outskirts of the Twin Cities in Minnesota. The mood of the picture matched what was written about, and it is not far fetched to believe that a professional photographer might have taken much the same type of picture. The paper’s designer said it was the first time that an iPhone picture was used as the centerpiece art on page one.”

Category 7: Best Architecture Story

Gold Winner: Nancy Keates, The Wall Street Journal

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “Some married people are happier living alone. However, a Rhode Island couple, who had been married for more than two decades and had raised children, bought a downtown loft and had it converted into his and hers apartments, each reflecting their personalities and preferences. They were happy with this arrangement, and the reporter raised the questions of whether this might be good for others.”

Category 8: Best Residential Real Estate Story in a Daily Newspaper

Gold Winner: Nicholas Nehamas, Miami Herald

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “The reporter gathered data on home values, Florida Department of Education school ratings, and crime statistics for 113 zip codes. The mission was to identify well priced neighborhoods with average or better schools and lower levels of crimes. The resulting interactive tool was an outstanding public service. The newspaper identified trends and mapped them light years ahead of real estate agents themselves, thus predicting industry trends.”

Category 9: Best Mortgage or Financial Real Estate Story in a Daily Newspaper

Gold Winner: Mary Shanklin, Orlando Sentinel

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “This reporter effectively wove the story of an elderly woman forced out of her condo and showed how a 2007 Florida law made it legal. When the housing bubble burst in 2008, developers in the state took over an astounding number of condos (11,000). A state representative used this story as leverage to push for new laws empowering condo owners.”

Category 10: Best Commercial Real Estate Story in a Daily Newspaper

Gold Winner: Jonathan O’Connell, The Washington Post

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “Covering his own boss, the reporter did a masterful job of capturing the behind-the-scenes drama of the acquisition of the Washington Post, this time from the riveting real estate angle. Also through the real estate prism, readers saw the seismic shift of the news business and what kinds of spaces thriving media companies need to compete in this environment. The reporter conducted a large number or interviews, including some with the top executives, and was surprised how much some of them told him.”

Category 11: Best Small Daily Newspaper Story

Gold Winner: Josh Salman, Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “Southwest Florida flippers, some operating illegally or questionably, are finding a way to make money. This reporter laid out a complicated process in a clear and concise story, based on the examination of more than 5,000 real estate records. A true public service, the story appealed to laymen with a glossary of terms.”

Category 12: Best Weekly Newspaper Story

Gold Winner: Candace Carlisle, Dallas Business Journal

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “It is not news that development and urban sprawl gobbles up farmland. However, this story puts the reader in an extraordinary spot, standing next to a braying donkey on the storied Haggard family farm, one of the last holdouts in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The reporter showed how interesting and novel it is that this family continued to hold on to its heritage, which stretched back to before the Civil War.”

Category 13: Best Residential, Mortgage or Financial Real Estate Magazine Story, General Circulation

Gold Winner: John Gittelsohn, Bloomberg News

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “The reporter spotted a trend, and found some striking examples of developers starting farms to sell homes around them. He showed that those buying the homes frequently wanted to pick their own lettuce rather than swing a golf club. The story was helped by having far flung examples of this trend from Texas to Virginia to Hawaii.”

Category 14: Best Trade Magazine Story

Gold Winner: Greg Vellante, TecHome Builder

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “In one of the contest’s most interesting stories, the reporter offered a laugh-out-loud look at the inspiration of Professor Dumpster in the high tech world of tiny housing. Cool interactives and art welcomed readers to the future. Particularly striking was how someone living in a dumpster rather quickly and unbelievably became a business success with small housing.”

Category 15: Best Commercial Trade Magazine Story

Gold Winner: Ralph Bivins, Freelance Journalist, Urban Land Magazine

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “The reporter did a journeyman’s job excavating information on tight-lipped ExxonMobil’s acquisition of 385 acres for its new campus north of Houston. The hush-hush deal has major ramifications for development in the area in addition to other resulting changes in ExxonMobil properties around town. The story was startlingly in depth.”

Category 16: Best Online Residential, Mortgage or Financial Real Estate Story

Gold Winner: Prashant Gopal, Bloomberg News

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “The reporter offered lively writing about techies on the prairie. Why would anyone move from a glitzy coastal city to flat, Midwestern Lincoln, Nebraska? With engaging graphics and hotlinks, the story answered this surprising question in a fashion that kept readers going to the end. As the reporter showed, housing prices are dramatically lower in Lincoln for hipster 20 somethings.”

Category 17: Best Online Commercial Real Estate Story

Gold Winner: Michael DeMasi, Albany Business Review

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “This was a fun rags-to-riches read about a popular pub in Albany, N.Y. that sold for a shocking $3.5 million. When the sale price flabbergasted real estate experts, the reporter convinced the pub owner to open his books to demonstrate that the sale price was appropriate, and he did. Of all of the entries in this category, this story by far demonstrated the most intelligent use of hotlinks to provide context and detail, making it not just a print story on the web. The writing was excellent.”

Category 18: Best Tweet Collection (140 characters or less)

Gold Winner: Ralph Bivins, Realty News Report

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “The playful tweets drove followers to his web stories, and the tweeter showed that he understood the potential for the medium and used it well. There was a good use of photographs.”

Category 19: Best Short Blog Post

Gold Winner: Katherine Feser, Houston Chronicle

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “The reporter documented the end of a Houston apartment landmark. Intelligent hotlinks embedded in the blogpost, and a slide show, allowed readers to expand the story as they saw fit.”

Category 20: Best Audio or Video Report—Broadcast or Online, Radio or Television

Gold Winner: Shannon Behnken and James Farquhar, WFLA-TV

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “In a video report where the pictures say far more than print could convey, the reporter and videographer exposed and embarrassed home owners who lied on real estate disclosure forms about sinkholes. Their tenacious investigation performed a valuable public service that led to the first federal criminal prosecution for this crime.”

Category 21: Best Breaking News Story

Gold Winner: Konrad Putzier, The Real Deal

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “The reporter revealed that a $144 million “loan” to the Blackstone Group, which was announced by the New York City mayor, was really a freebie that the company would never have to pay back. The story came from the reporter reading the fine print and realizing that this was not simply a routine deal, but, in fact, was the city hiding the truth.”

Category 22: Best Investigative Report or Investigative Series

Gold Winner: Janet Day, Denise M. Bonilla, Carl MacGowan, Deon J. Hampton and Maura McDermott, Newsday

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “Zombie houses, which are abandoned, dilapidated structures, were highlighted in a story about the problems surrounding them. A year-long Newsday investigation revealed these homes to be in limbo because mortgage companies refused to maintain them. The story showed that Nassau and Suffolk counties had 4,044 zombie homes. As a result of the story, more than a dozen banks and mortgage companies took on the responsibility to maintain these homes even though they did not have to do so legally.”

Category 23: Best Series

Gold Winner: Jeff Collins, Orange County Register

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “This series examined housing problems in Orange County, California, that have no easy solutions. The problems include: would-be homeowners who cannot find a home to buy, or much less rent, in their price range; a limited water supply; and the reluctance of long-time residents to accept real estate changes. The five-part series was comprehensive with numerous interviews of those affected.”

Category 24: Best Blog

Gold Winner: Ken Harney, Bert’s Blog

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “This story performed a significant public service. After directing readers to Zillow’s ‘Zestimates’ to find out the apparent value of their homes, the writer showed them how to find out if the estimate was correct. He predicted that many readers would be greatly surprised by the result.”

Category 25: Best International Real Estate Story

Gold Winner: Neil Callanan and Suzi Ring, Bloomberg News

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “This was another striking example of how ‘privacy laws’ are often used to hide graft and corruption. Kudos to Bloomberg for a comprehensive look at how billionaires used secret luxury home purchases in London to hide their assets and ill-gotten gains. The reporters worked with the British Land Registry to create a new data base of overseas property owners. The story resulted in the British prime minister promising to crack down on the use of anonymous shell companies to buy properties.”

Category 26: Best Team Report

Gold Winners: John Gittelsohn and Prashant Gopal, Bloomberg News

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winners: “This report raised a problem that is becoming more and more common in big cities: the inability of some people to find a place to live because of the high cost of real estate. The story focused on San Francisco, where the problem is perhaps more dire than in any other big city in the country. It showed how some desperate people were willing to live anywhere, even if it was illegal, and take a chance that they would not be evicted or charged with a crime. The story screamed for solutions to be found.”

Category 27: Best Design, Home or Shelter Magazine

Gold Winner: Lynn Medford, The Washington Post Magazine

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “This Sunday magazine had an engaging mix of editorial content, from the high-end soiree at the French ambassador’s home to practical tips about ordinary homeowners’ patios. Inspiring before and after photographs were a real treat.”

Category 28: Best Residential Trade Magazine

Gold Winner: Stuart Elliott, Jill Noonan, and Elizabeth Kim, The Real Deal

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “The judges were impressed by the high volume of editorial content. In a homage to New Yorker magazine, the cartoon cover took a chance and easily scored. This publication sets a high bar for its competitors.”

Category 29: Best Commercial Trade Magazine

Gold Winner: Michael Walsh, The Real Reporter

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “The Real Reporter Annual Investment Report is a comprehensive review of the previous year in New England commercial real estate. The amount of information is stunning and is a must read for anyone in real estate in the greater Boston area.”

Category 30: Best Newsletter

Gold Winner: Loretta Clodfelter, Institutional Real Estate – The Americas

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “This newsletter about the Americas stands out because of its in-depth data analysis and lively infographics, beautiful photographs, and clean layouts. It is not afraid to tackle tough topics such as unconscious bias relating to women leaders in the commercial real estate industry. Whoever designs this deserves a raise.”

Category 31: Best Newspaper Real Estate or Home Section

Gold Winner: Emily Gitter and Beth DeCarbo, The Wall Street Journal – Mansion

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “Tackling such tantalizing topics as what happens to the properties of rogue executives sent to prison for corporate crimes, this section is a mixture of sizzle and steak. It mixes substantial and well written stories with stunning, lavish photography. For real estate readers, this is the stuff dreams are made of.”

Category 32: Best Web Site

Gold Winner: Suzann Silverman, Diana Mosher, Jessica Fiur, Samantha Goldberg, Mallory Bulman, Paul Rosta, Michelle Matteson, Veronica Grecu, Alex Girda, Adriana Pop, Adelina Osan, Ioana Neamt and Anca Gagiuc, MultiHousing News

Judge’s Comment on Gold Winner: “The page has a logical and attractive presence. It is full of information and multimedia and breaking news, organized so that the fresh news automatically appears on the first screen. Users can study market data broken down by region and hone in on property types that are best suited for them. There is something for everyone.”