Rules for Covering the Real Estate Beat

By Ilyce Glink
October 25, 2004 03:35 PM

In 1988, I decided I wanted to be a full-time journalist. I had just left a wonderful job as an editorial assistant for a publishing company, and the best part about that job had been rewriting other people's nonfiction books. One of my authors, Phyllis Magida, who was a food writer for the Chicago Tribune (and now is a successful screenwriter), took me around to introduce me to various editors who needed freelance writers.

Of the maybe 10 editors I met that day, only one needed help. Chuck Hayes, the long-time real estate editor of the paper, looked me up and down and asked me what I knew about real estate. As it turned out, I had just completed the state of Illinois ' requirements for taking the real estate agent licensing test and had passed the test (I never activated the license). In addition, my mother was a top real estate agent in the city, and I was dating a real estate attorney.

Chuck smiled and handed me my first assignment: Write about a new townhouse development in a far-off suburb.

Back in the late 1980s, real estate was hot -- and the real estate sections were the fattest in the paper. Interest rates were more than 10 percent, but people were buying homes, so developers and lenders were advertising. I could easily write four or five stories a week about residential and commercial real estate for the Tribune 's various real estate sections, and it soon became a regular gig.

A year or so later, I learned why real estate was considered "cyclical." One day, millions of people woke up in southern California and the Northeast and discovered their homes, which they had bought in the last year, were worth just two-thirds (or even half) of what they had paid. I became fascinated by the economics behind the fall in value, and what it meant to homeowners in those parts of the country, and elsewhere.

I also spent a fair amount of time talking to mortgage lenders about why residential lending was so inflexible compared to the kind of options offered to commercial real estate developers. Real estate developers in the late 1980s and early 1990s could design their own loans. Homeowners were just learning about 15-year loans. Adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) were out there, but were basically untapped by consumers.

For me, covering residential real estate has always been about people. We buy and sell homes. We maintain them, fix them up and spend hours pruning our gardens. Buying a home is an emotional touchstone for most of us: It's the American Dream. Once you open that door, real estate can never again be just about four walls, a ceiling and a floor.

Somewhere along the line, I began branching out into personal finance. In the mid 1990s, the real estate market on the east and west coasts had begun to (or fully) recover, and homeowners were able to sell their homes and pocket a fair amount of profit. What to do with the cash? I started talking to accountants and certified financial planners.

It turns out that when Americans retire, their primary asset is the equity they have in their homes. Lenders were offering house-rich/cash-poor homeowners a way to tap into their equity while staying in their homes. In the mid-1990s, I began writing more about the financial aspect of real estate. Around that time, mortgage lenders began offering more creative loans to home buyers. ARMs filtered down to cocktail party conversation. Homeowners started talking about how much their neighborhoods had appreciated in value.

Details count. In the beginning, I had to ask agents and lenders to repeat things again and again. It was hard to understand the difference, for example, between a two-step mortgage and an ARM. But the advice was fantastic and much of it produced real results: For example, real estate agents told me long ago that where you place the tchotchkes on your kitchen countertop can add another $2,000 to the sales price of your home. (I tested this out when I sold my own home -- and it worked!)

I've also taken the topics of real estate and personal finance and put them into different media. I've written five books about buying and selling homes, and am currently finishing the 3 rd edition of my book, " 100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask. " As the financial reporter for WGN-TV, I do real estate and personal finance segments for the news each week. I used to host a syndicated weekly radio talk show about real estate. I've done Internet chats about buying and selling homes, and now write four syndicated columns each week.

Sharing the inside tips, the secret stories, the bad dealings and the good advice most of the hard-working agents, lenders, brokers and home inspectors have to offer has been the most rewarding aspect of the job. Talking to consumers about their mistakes has helped countless others avoid them.

Anyone can cover real estate. Like any beat, you need to develop good sources, learn the lingo and never take "No" for an answer. And while it's helpful to date (and marry!) a real estate attorney, you can get by without it.

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Copyright © 2008 Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism