Howard Chai
Howard Chai reports on the mechanics of real estate deals, using detailed transaction, legal and policy information to show how projects and portfolios move from concept to completion or collapse. At the Globe and Mail, his coverage centres on the development industry, commercial real estate and housing policy, with an emphasis on complex structures such as receiverships, distressed sales and credit bids. He writes with a level of specificity aimed at industry professionals while keeping stories accessible for non‑specialist readers, a balance he also sets out as the goal for his independent work. Alongside his Globe and Mail reporting, he contributes to several real estate publications and runs The Realist, an outlet devoted to in‑depth real estate news and analysis.
Development industry and major projects
Chai’s feature work often follows major development projects from early planning through construction, focusing on the partners, capital plans and land‑use decisions behind them. In his story on the redevelopment of the Telus “Boot” in Burnaby, he traces how Anthem Properties Group, Crestpoint Real Estate Investments and Vestcor are repositioning a long‑standing office landmark, detailing the phased restoration and upgrade of the property rather than treating it as a simple renovation.
His coverage of TransLink’s Real Estate Development Program similarly walks through the agency’s plan to turn excess land into non‑fare revenue, explaining how a 31‑storey tower at West Broadway and Arbutus in Vancouver will combine at‑market and below‑market rentals, retail space and a public plaza within a broader pipeline of sites identified for redevelopment across Metro Vancouver. In that piece, he connects individual projects in Surrey, North Vancouver and Coquitlam to the agency’s strategy for housing supply and transit‑oriented growth, underscoring how public entities are becoming active real estate developers.
These stories show a consistent focus on who is building what, with which partners, on which sites, and for what mix of uses.
Distress, receiverships and credit bids
A distinguishing thread in Chai’s beat is his sustained attention to distress in the real estate market and the legal processes that follow. In his analysis of rising real estate insolvencies, he uses national data on distressed sales to quantify a multi‑year shift, noting that recorded transactions climbed from 119 worth $767‑million in 2023 to 252 worth about $1.42‑billion last year, with development land bearing much of the pressure.
He links those numbers to specific market conditions in Greater Toronto and Metro Vancouver, explaining why non‑income‑producing development sites are particularly vulnerable when projects stall. A separate piece on KingSett Capital’s takeover of four Vandyk Group projects shows the same approach at the transaction level: he reconstructs a receivership that began with a consolidated court application in 2023, describes a court‑ordered sales process that attracted no bids, and then explains how KingSett ultimately acquired the assets via a $362‑million credit bid built from outstanding debt and funds advanced to the receiver. His reporting on a Toronto property acquired by Cogir in a receivership sale continues this line of coverage, focusing on how distressed assets are transferred and repositioned in a high‑rate environment. In a Globe and Mail roundup of real estate stories, his work is cited for having “combed through court filings” to document lawsuits by Metro Vancouver developers against buyers who failed to close, illustrating his use of court records to anchor narratives about failed sales and contract disputes.
Commercial portfolios and investment strategy
Beyond single developments, Chai regularly covers multi‑property transactions and portfolio strategies in commercial real estate. His article on Spear Street Capital’s purchase of 141 Adelaide Street in Toronto places the deal within the investor’s broader Canadian office portfolio, highlighting how the acquisition adds to a half‑dozen assets and fits into a cross‑border office investment thesis.
In his story on Humbold Properties listing most of its Greater Toronto Area industrial portfolio for sale, he frames the move as a strategic reshaping of holdings, specifying the asset type and regional focus of the properties going to market. These pieces mirror his Globe and Mail coverage of private equity real estate firms involved in receiverships and credit bids, where he pays close attention to debt totals, lender roles and the structure of bids and sales.
Taken together, his portfolio and transaction reporting gives readers a granular view of how institutional investors, developers and lenders adjust their positions as market conditions change.
Independent and multi‑outlet real estate reporting
Chai’s work at the Globe and Mail sits within a wider practice as an independent real estate reporter who publishes across multiple specialist outlets. His professional bios describe him as a freelance real estate reporter who covers the development industry, housing policy and commercial real estate, and note that he contributes to Storeys, Western Investor, RENX and The Tyee alongside the Globe and Mail.
He previously held a Western‑focused role at Storeys and was a finalist for the Jack Webster Award for Excellence in Business Reporting in 2025, indicating recognition for his business and real estate coverage. In 2025 he launched The Realist, an independent outlet where he says his goal is to produce stories with enough detail and insight for industry professionals while remaining accessible to non‑experts. That outlet’s about page notes that his work has been cited by a range of national and regional publications, reinforcing the idea that his reporting is used as a reference point within the broader real estate conversation.
Across these platforms, he maintains a consistent focus on development, commercial property and housing policy, using data, legal records and transaction details to ground his coverage.
4 more real estate journalists.
Addie Morfoot
Addie Morfoot covers how real estate, culture and media meet, focusing on people, rules and the way homes shape a life. She reports for The New York Times on housing and lifestyle, from personal narratives about finding a home after loss to features on how short-term rental policy affects everyday owners and renters. She writes real estate stories that connect laws and regulations to the choices available to ordinary residents in specific towns and cities. She is a regular contributor to the Sunday Routine franchise, following actors, comedians and designers through a typical day and showing how settings like homes, studios and subway cars shape daily experience. She also has a long track record covering documentary film and the entertainment business, including legal questions around fair use, changing docu-series formats, festival premieres and financing. Her portfolio spans more than two decades of work for The New York Times, Variety, The Wall Street Journal and Crain’s New York Business.
Alcynna Lloyd
Alcynna Lloyd is a real estate reporter and economic journalist at Business Insider whose work is distinct for treating housing as a core economic system people must navigate. She covers how housing markets, costs, and mobility shape everyday life decisions, connecting data on rents, home prices, and city trends with stories of people managing debt, multigenerational living, and moves abroad. Her beat centers on housing costs, renters, and household strategies, following renters pushing back against landlords and tracking “desperate home sellers” using concessions in unaffordable markets. A second strand of her coverage focuses on relocation, remote work, and cheap cities as everyday economic strategies. She regularly uses rankings and lists, such as best and worst states to buy a home and Rising Stars of Real Estate, and reads city housing and migration shifts as signs of broader economic change.
Alec Lazenby
Alec Lazenby covers how provincial politics and government decisions shape housing, real estate and the wider social fabric. He reports for The Vancouver Sun from the provincial legislature. His work examines HousingHub, middle-income rentals, affordability, stalled projects, empty condos, developer layoffs, municipal housing targets and land use. He also covers health, addiction, safer supply, involuntary care, water rights, resource management, Indigenous rights and Crown land. Lazenby connects policy language to specific buildings, rents, projects, services and people. He explains financial, regulatory and market pressures, then follows how institutions, professionals, developers, municipalities and affected communities respond. His reporting tests government goals against practical outcomes and shows how policy reversals, construction costs, interest rates and political accountability shape housing and public life.
Amir Ali
Amir Ali links housing, disputes, and oddball neighbourhood stories in case-based, street-level reporting for Daily Hive. He holds a senior editorial and writing role, listed on the masthead as part of Vancouver leadership and described as a staff writer. His core beat is real estate, especially the rental market and housing affordability, tracking rent ranges, market shifts, and how pressures land on people trying to stay housed. He also covers crime, civil tribunals, and mental health, explaining decisions and conflicts in plain language that focuses on timelines, behaviour, and outcomes. Ali writes offbeat hyperlocal features, traffic and transport disruptions, business, food, and general local news, often turning infrastructure, small businesses, and civic systems into tangible stories. A former radio producer, he brings tight pacing and clear stakes to written pieces and maintains an active social media presence as a broadcaster and writer.