Business Insider Recognized for Excellence in Real Estate Journalism

The National Association of Real Estate Editors (NAREE) has awarded five awards to Business Insider in its 74th Annual Journalism Awards.

Daniel Geiger received the Gold Award in Category 3: Best Collection of Work by an Individual Covering Commercial Real Estate for his reporting including:

• “Rural America is the new hotbed in the AI race as tech giants spend billions to turn farms into data centers”

• “Matt Onofrio made $35 million helping everyday people invest in real estate. Then he was indicted. Was it all a scam?” 

• “Landlords who bought thousands of apartments are facing a reckoning”

The judges noted, “Geiger's trio of stories are both timely and important. They’re also meticulous, backed by precise examples and hard-to-get data. In ‘AI race,’ Geiger describes the frenzied rush for farmland for data centers and utilities' struggle to supply energy, with one utility quantifying it as equivalent to powering 560,000 Arizona homes. Another piece delves into Matt Onofrio, a nurse who got unsuspecting people, including a famous MMA fighter, to buy commercial properties from him while cheating them in the process. Throughout, Geiger's writing shines.”

In Category 2: Best Collection of Work by an Individual Covering Residential Real Estate, James Rodriguez received the Bronze Award for his collection including:

• “Gen Z is coming for the housing market” 

• “The multibillion-dollar lawsuits that could radically reshape how we buy and sell homes forever”

• “The housing market’s Ice Age”

In Category 5: Best Economic Analysis - Real Estate, James Rodriguez received an Honorable Mention for “The housing market’s Ice Age.”

In Category 15: Best Online Commercial Real Estate Story, James Rodriguez received the Bronze award for “Gen Z is coming for the housing market.”

Finally in Category 20: Best Investigative Report or Investigative Series - Real Estate - Commercial or residential real estate, Daniel Geiger, Ellen Thomas, Rebecca Ungarino, and Issie Lapowsky received the Silver award for:

• “Inside AI's giant land grab” 

• “Amazon built a data center empire in northern Virginia. Exclusive filings reveal it’s using as much energy as a major city.” 

• “Data Centers are booming. Their need for power is causing utilities to retreat on green energy.”

•  “Rural America is the new hotbed in the AI race as tech giants spend billions to turn farms into data centers.” 

• “Blackstone’s data center gamble” 

• “Data centers have become an economic powerhouse. Now they’re throwing their weight around in Virginia politics”

For this award, the judges commented, “The issue of artificial intelligence has quickly become one of the hottest topics of today, but for most, it remains a phenomenon contained in the digital world. This team’s reporting shows how AI is already a concrete reality in the form of data centers being built across the country and what these centers mean for the communities in which they are being built. This series of stories deftly illustrates how the AI race is influencing local economics, politics, and the environment.”

Congratulations to this year’s winners!