Luxury & Old Money
Talmyn Pick: 730 Stanyan for Best Real Estate Developer
An editorial spotlight on OMA's first US affordable housing project, a 160-home San Francisco building from one of the world's…
Best Real Estate Developer
An ongoing list of developers behind projects that solved a real constraint well — density, affordability, sustainability, or design — not just the biggest buildings.
What this offers
A project-specific feature
We write about one specific project and the constraint it solved, not a company-wide portfolio summary.
All project types eligible
Residential, commercial, mixed-use, and affordable housing projects are all considered on equal terms.
No cost to nominate
Free to submit a nomination.
Credibility for smaller developers
A strong regional project gets the same consideration as a major national one.
Who this is for
Developers, architects, or anyone close to a specific real estate project that solved a genuine design, affordability, or sustainability constraint well.
How it works
- Submit the project. What it is, where, and the specific constraint it addressed.
- An editor reviews it. Public records, renderings, and available reporting.
- Strong nominees are featured. Added to the current list.
- You're notified when it's live. If you submitted the nomination.
Rules & eligibility
- This is free to enter, and always will be — we never charge a submission fee.
- No age, location, industry, or follower-count requirement. Selection is about the work itself, not who you are.
- Submitting doesn't guarantee publication or a reply beyond the automatic confirmation — we get more submissions than we can feature, and we'd rather say that upfront than overpromise.
- One submission per person or company at a time. If it isn't selected, you're welcome to submit again later with something new.
- Selection is editorial, not a queue — we're not obligated to publish every submission, and we won't pad the list with entries that aren't ready.
How do I actually apply?
I describe the specific constraint the project had to solve — a tight site, an affordability requirement, a difficult zoning situation — and how the design or financing addressed it, rather than just describing the finished building.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does it cost anything to submit?
No. It's free to submit to Best Real Estate Developer, and free to be featured if selected. We don't charge for consideration, and we never will.
How long does it take to hear back?
If your submission is selected, you'll hear from an editor directly. If it isn't, we don't send a rejection notice — the volume we receive makes that impractical.
Can I submit on behalf of someone else?
Only with their knowledge and involvement — we want the real details, and that usually means hearing from the person or team directly.
What happens if I'm not selected?
Nothing gets published without being selected first. Unselected submissions simply aren't used, and you're welcome to submit again later.
Does this run every year?
Yes — Best Real Estate Developer is evergreen. It runs all year, every year, with no deadline to catch.
Selection is editorial and unpaid on both sides — no one is charged to submit, and no one is paid for work we publish. Talmyn's editorial standards apply the same way here as everywhere else on the site.
Submit
The current list