Thomas Grillo

Thomas changed the way real estate reporting is done in Boston. Once, journalists depended on brokers to tell us what's happening in the market. The sector was always “strong,” no matter what was happening and there was always a positive spin on any news. We took the word from agents who told us of bidding wars. Thomas introduced the use of data to tell the real story and verified the home addresses on MLS for any claims of multiple bids. More recently, Thomas regrets selling his lakefront home in Maine last summer.

I have covered Boston’s housing crisis and mega developments for the city’s major newspapers. My reporting chronicled Filene’s, which went from a thriving retail mecca, to a hole in the ground for years and later a $200 million mixed-use residential project.

In addition, I have kept pace with rising home and condo prices across the Bay State. In Lynn, the once affordable community north of Boston, for example, the median price for a single-family home reached $510,000 in September, up from $280,000 five years ago. Lynn is not the only place where a piece of the American Dream is out of reach for many buyers. It is a nationwide problem. The lack of affordable housing for teachers, police officers and middle class families remains a big challenge.

Boston University, B.A.