Alex Douglas is a business and real estate writer based in suburban Chicago, bringing together professional newsroom experience, firsthand brokerage knowledge, and a practical interest in property investing. He earned a BS from Arizona State University and went on to report for multiple newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune, where he covered business and real estate.
Before focusing on real estate journalism, Alex spent five years as a Realtor in Phoenix, giving him direct insight into buyers, sellers, agents, negotiations, and the day-to-day realities of local housing markets. Today, his reporting draws on both his journalism background and his real estate experience to explain market trends, housing developments, and industry changes with clarity and authority. As a novice multifamily real estate investor, Alex also brings a hands-on perspective to coverage of property ownership, investment strategy, and long-term market opportunities.
Alex Douglas 
Rocket Companies posted its most profitable quarter in four years even as its chief executive described the spring housing market as one of the toughest in years, the Detroit-based mortgage lender announced Aug. 6. The company reported second-quarter net revenue of $2.78 billion and adjusted revenue of $2.76 billion for the period ended June 30, … Read more
Altus Group has acquired Valos, a UK-based platform that automates the property valuation and lending workflow for commercial real estate, the Toronto-listed real estate intelligence firm announced Aug. 6. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Valos, founded in 2020 by CEO Alex Kountourides, connects valuation firms and mortgage lenders on a single platform … Read more
UWM Holdings raised $2.05 billion from Oaktree Capital and the Ishbia family after a $451.9 million second-quarter loss tied to its failed Two Harbors bid, and suspended its dividend to prioritize debt reduction.
Newmark Group acquired German real estate valuation firm L+P Immobilienbewertung, its fourth Valuation & Advisory acquisition in Europe this year following deals in France, Canada and Germany.
Five of the highest-priced publicly reported home sales in the Atlanta, Georgia metro area for the week ending Sunday, August 2, 2026 — $32.05 million combined, led by a $13.8 million newly built estate in Buckhead’s Tuxedo Park.
AGNT, Inc., the Bellingham, Wash.-based holding company that owns eXp Realty and was known as eXp World Holdings until rebranding earlier this year, reported record second-quarter 2026 revenue of $1.4 billion, up 11% from a year ago, according to an Aug. 4 earnings release. Executives credited rising agent productivity and new AI tools for the … Read more
Innovative Industrial Properties Inc., the real estate investment trust that owns cannabis cultivation and processing facilities, posted second-quarter 2026 profit that topped Wall Street estimates even as tenant defaults kept a lid on revenue growth, according to an Aug. 3 SEC filing. Total revenue was $63.3 million, roughly flat with $62.9 million a year earlier … Read more
Five of the highest-priced publicly reported home sales in the Chicago, Illinois metro area for the week ending Sunday, August 2, 2026 — $20.91 million combined, led by a $5.6 million Lincoln Park closing, with the week’s only over-ask bidding war at No. 3.
The MBA’s weekly survey shows the 30-year fixed rate climbed to 6.81%, its highest level in over a year, as overall mortgage application volume fell 2.9% in the week following the Fed’s July policy meeting.
Vornado Realty Trust’s Q2 2026 earnings show rising Manhattan office rents and occupancy, plus a new $1.1 billion stake in Park Avenue Plaza alongside Fisher Brothers.
Cushman & Wakefield posted record second-quarter leasing and services revenue, with adjusted EBITDA up 14% and full-year guidance raised, even as capital markets revenue dipped and GAAP net income fell.
Alexandria Real Estate Equities reported a Q2 2026 net loss of $0.43 per share and $222.5 million in impairment charges, but leasing volume rose 60% sequentially and the life-science REIT held its full-year FFO guidance steady.
Five of the highest-priced publicly reported home sales in the Naples, Florida metro area for the week ending Sunday, August 2, 2026 — $46.9 million combined, led by a $15.1 million new-construction closing in Olde Naples.
Tishman Speyer acquired the 296-unit Berkshire Dilworth apartment community from Berkshire Residential, its first purchase in Charlotte, N.C., through its TS Plus core-plus fund.
Gov. Greg Abbott proposed withholding sales tax revenue from Texas cities that impose costly add-on requirements, like oversized pools or extra height limits, to stall housing development.
Home prices rose year-over-year in 80% of U.S. metros this spring, up from 71% in Q1, as the national median price climbed to $434,900, NAR’s latest quarterly report finds.
A new Zillow survey of 366 real estate agents finds most agree independent representation and full listing access serve buyers, even as fewer say the practices help agents themselves.
Manhattan tenants leased 3.87 million square feet of office space in July, up 28 percent year over year, with Midtown South driving nearly half the activity as availability hit a six-year low, Colliers reports.
Snapchat’s parent company has taken over the eighth through 10th floors at Vornado’s Penn 2 tower that Verizon leased just over a year ago for a headquarters it never occupied.
CMBS distress climbed to 10.91% in July, its highest level of 2026, led by 16.65% distress among office loans, according to CRED iQ, as special servicing transfers outpaced actual delinquencies.
Easterly Government Properties raised its 2026 core FFO guidance to $3.07-$3.13 per share after posting second-quarter core FFO of $0.78 per share, up from $0.74 a year earlier, on 98% portfolio occupancy.
Piedmont Office Realty Trust raised its 2026 Core FFO and same-store NOI guidance for the second straight quarter, citing strong leasing across its Sunbelt Class A office portfolio.
Extra Space Storage’s second-quarter core FFO rose 4.9% to $2.15 per share as same-store NOI grew 3.5% and the REIT raised full-year guidance, even as self-storage transaction volume stays muted.
Permanent loan modifications on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans rose 4.7% in April even as total foreclosure-prevention actions fell 8.7%, FHFA data shows, as the GSEs shift toward shorter forbearance periods.
The share of home builders reporting increased local M&A activity grew from 14% to 21% over the past year, and those approached about being acquired doubled to 18%, an NAHB survey analysis finds.
Atlanta-based Varcity closed financing on a 239-unit retirement community inside Purdue University’s Discovery Park District, the first of a planned national network of campus-anchored senior housing.
Blackstone Mortgage Trust posted an $81.2 million second-quarter net loss as credit reserves tied to a defaulted Chicago office loan offset revenue that beat estimates, while the company redeployed capital toward residential and industrial loans.
A group of landlords and property managers has proposed a $359.9 million settlement resolving nationwide antitrust claims that RealPage revenue-management software let them coordinate apartment rents. The deal still needs court approval.
A new First Street analysis finds severe thunderstorms caused $82 billion in global losses in 2025, overtaking hurricanes as the costliest insured peril and driving rate hikes and non-renewals in hail-prone U.S. markets.
Intercontinental Exchange’s Mortgage Technology segment grew revenue 5% to $557 million in the second quarter, while operating income more than quadrupled to $45 million as Closing Solutions led product-line growth.
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