Housing Reporter

The Bay Area News Group -- which operates the Mercury News and East Bay Times online and in print -- has an immediate opening for an energetic reporter and exceptional story teller interested in joining our top-notch housing team to cover an issue that defines the Bay Area and shapes the lives of anyone who lives or works here. We're looking for someone who is passionate about a topic that has the attention of everyone in the region, whether they are newcomers or long-time residents, young or old, rich or poor, renters or homeowners. You should be an experienced self-starter with an affinity for data and an ability to mine sources for a steady stream of daily news coverage and deeper enterprise for online and print platforms. You should be equally comfortable working independently and as part of a team, collaborating with other reporters who cover housing, homelessness, home sales and commercial deals. You will be responsible for covering the Bay Area housing market, examining everything from how inflation and rising interest rates affect home prices to the plight of first-time buyers struggling to piece together six-figure down payments to the ways cities, counties and the state are approaching the housing shortage. You should be adept at finding and telling the human stories of the housing crisis, an issue whose emotional center is at the core of life in the Bay Area.