You can't optimize the sweet sweet ad cash by just being a journalist! The need for a commercial tie-in zinger twist is ingrained now.
I don't think journalists (or even the AP) get cash for this. Usually it's more that companies can give the journalists an easy story by giving them a pre-packaged story in a press release. I can't see any such connection here, though.
“Journalists are in charge of headlines” I say as I smooth out my sash that says “News Expert” on it, “I read that online”
The redfin stuff is in the text of the article, which certainly was written by a journalist.
If you read the article you see it was a quote from one of the interviewed people.