Don Baker is a full-time staff reporter for RealtyWire, where he covers residential real estate, commercial real estate, multifamily housing, market trends, finance, construction, rental data, and regulatory issues affecting the real estate industry.
Before joining RealtyWire, Don worked as an investor relations director for a multifamily private equity fund, where he wrote investor updates and reporting materials on the performance, operations, and outlook of investment properties. That role gave him hands-on experience analyzing real estate trends, rental statistics, construction activity, financing issues, multifamily operations, compliance matters, and the legal and regulatory factors that shape property ownership and investment.
Don brings a broad understanding of both residential and commercial real estate to his reporting, with a particular focus on helping readers understand how market data, policy changes, capital markets, and local property trends affect buyers, sellers, investors, brokers, developers, and property owners.
He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business from Southern Illinois University and currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia.
Don Baker 
Dream Finders Homes has agreed to acquire Beazer Homes in an all-cash deal worth about $2.2 billion, the companies announced Aug. 6, ending a monthslong pursuit that started as a hostile bid and closes as a unanimously approved merger creating the nation’s sixth-largest listed homebuilder. Under the agreement, Beazer shareholders will receive $33.50 in cash … Read more
Starwood Property Trust’s GAAP net income fell 95% in the second quarter, dropping to $6.6 million from $129.8 million a year earlier, even as the commercial mortgage REIT’s preferred profitability measure held essentially flat, the company reported for the quarter ended June 30. GAAP earnings per diluted share came in at 1 cent, down from … Read more
American Healthcare REIT raised its full-year guidance after posting its tenth consecutive quarter of double-digit same-store net operating income growth, the healthcare and senior housing REIT disclosed Aug. 6 in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Total portfolio same-store NOI grew 13.2% in the second quarter compared with a year earlier, extending a … Read more
Proptech startups raised a reported $650.4 million across 30 financing events in June, according to CRETI. The analysis emphasizes investor preference for specialized software and operational use cases over broad, all-purpose platforms. Funding totals depend on CRETI’s inclusion criteria and disclosed deal values; large individual rounds should be verified against company or investor announcements. Key … Read more
NAHB’s Multifamily Production and Occupancy Indexes both declined in Q2 2026, with mid- and high-rise sentiment falling the most amid financing costs, permitting delays and labor shortages.
Brookdale agreed to buy the real estate of 17 leased senior living communities for about $157 million and refinanced $244 million in mortgage debt, clearing all maturities until 2028.
CBRE research shows data center vacancy at record lows in Northern Virginia, Atlanta and Dallas-Fort Worth, with power delivery and permitting delays now the binding constraint on new supply.
Florida accounted for five of the ten highest-priced U.S. home sales in May, according to Redfin. The month’s top transaction was a $75 million Boca Raton property, followed by a $62.5 million sale in Manalapan. Half of the nation’s largest residential transactions closing in a single state is a concentration worth examining — particularly because … Read more
Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. raised a record $77 billion in new capital during the second quarter of 2026, the company announced Aug. 5, as institutional investors poured money into its credit, infrastructure and private equity strategies. The haul pushed year-to-date fundraising to $98 billion and set up what CEO Connor Teskey called the firm’s “best … Read more
Florida’s share of the nation’s homeowners insurance lawsuits has nearly been cut in half since the state overhauled its property insurance laws, according to state regulatory data reported by Florida Realtors on Aug. 5. Florida’s portion of national homeowners insurance litigation fell from roughly 79% in 2020 to about 41% in 2025, even though the … Read more
Buyers need to earn $109,796 to afford the typical U.S. home, Redfin reports, down just 0.5% from a year-ago record as mortgage rates and prices stabilize.
Prologis converted its July “best and final” offer into a signed agreement to acquire U.K. industrial landlord SEGRO plc, creating the world’s largest publicly traded industrial REIT.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are retiring the streamlined condo loan-review option for applications dated Aug. 3, 2026, and later, pushing more condo buildings into full financial and structural reviews as reserve requirements rise in 2027.
Harbert Management Corporation closed three transactions totaling $455 million for five senior housing communities in New Mexico, Colorado, Florida and Texas, extending a wave of institutional investment in seniors housing.
Compass posted record second-quarter adjusted EBITDA of $363 million and swung to a $92 million profit, with revenue up 14% year-over-year on a pro forma basis as its Anywhere Real Estate acquisition fully integrated.
Real house-buying power improved approximately 7% year over year in April as the market moved toward balance, according to First American. Months of supply rose from about 3.5 in April 2024 to 4.4 in April 2026, while nominal price growth slowed sharply. Affordability is improving — but not through the channel most buyers are waiting … Read more
Ares Commercial Real Estate reported $4.4 million in Q2 net income and $130 million in new loan commitments, while its credit-loss reserve and secured borrowings both grew during the quarter.
HOA-related foreclosures climbed to 6,376 properties in the first quarter, up nearly 40% in two years, as insurance costs and depleted reserves push cash-strapped associations to crack down on delinquent owners.
Two Florida homebuyers filed a class action July 29 accusing LGI Homes, loanDepot and their mortgage joint venture of hiding true home costs and steering renters into loans they could not afford.
Oregon Housing and Community Services is offering fixed-rate permanent mortgages to affordable housing developers for the first time in nearly two decades, filling a financing gap between construction and long-term debt.
KBRA assigned a preliminary rating to a $1.036 billion single-borrower CMBS loan backed by 15 apartment complexes with 6,041 units across seven states, with KBRA valuing the portfolio 37% below the appraiser’s estimate.
A $91.8 million CMBS loan backed by Pittsburgh’s Gateway Center office complex was liquidated for $37.7 million, booking a $64.8 million realized loss, according to the trust’s SEC distribution filing.
The share of U.S. listings with a price cut rose to 20% in July from 18.8% in June, Realtor.com reports, as mortgage rates near a one-year high stalled the summer selling season.
JPMorganChase will deploy $750 billion through 2035 under its American Dream Initiative, aiming to finance 1 million affordable housing units and help 500,000 people buy homes, including 200,000 first-time buyers.
Agree Realty deployed a company-record $502 million into 102 retail net lease properties in the second quarter and raised its full-year AFFO and investment guidance as a result.
LPT Aperture Holdings, parent of LPT Realty and Aperture Global Real Estate, confidentially filed for an IPO with the SEC, with founder Robert Palmer confirming the move at Inman Connect San Diego.
Toronto-based Vital Infrastructure Property Trust bought the East New York Health Hub, a 142,249-square-foot medical office building in Brooklyn, for $89.9 million, funded by European asset sale proceeds.
Healthpeak Properties bought the Allegro Senior Living community in St. Augustine, Fla., for $54 million, adding to the healthcare REIT’s senior housing portfolio amid strong sector-wide investor demand.
A Florida legislative watchdog report found building officials identified 54 condominium buildings as unsafe or uninhabitable in 2024 and 2025 milestone inspections, but confirmed only five were actually vacated, amid significant gaps in statewide reporting.
KKR reported record fee-related and total operating earnings for the second quarter, with its Real Assets segment — covering real estate, infrastructure and energy — posting 18% AUM growth and the firm’s largest single-segment capital raise.
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