Inman RE Connect '07

Noah, I probably represent a target reader for a real estate blog. I began googling all things real estate about 6 months before I bought. I don't remember how I came across your site, but as soon as I did, I began reading it every morning with my coffee. I leaned a *tremendous* amount, and often forwarded your posts to my pals when something really resonated. UrbanDigs has been, and continues to be a way, way richer resource for me than any broker I worked with (and in the end I didn't work with any, yours was such a high bar). Though I'm no longer in the market (in large part thanks to tips from UrbanDigs!), you've got me hooked, and I visit your site a couple of times a week. The only other real estate related content I read regularly is the NYT real estate section, once a week. That's it.

The tone that UrbanDigs conveys (to me, at least) is:

Real Estate = scary & foreboding / UrbanDigs = friendly & cool

Brokers want to close the deal / UrbanDigs wants you to be savvy

Brokers = what's now / UrbanDigs = what's coming (and how to be savvy about it)

Things that struck me especially:

- Your "inside the mind of the active buyer" post, as I was an active buyer at the time, and the post really resonated.

- Your periodic inventory analysis

- General principles like light/views, location, size and monthlies as four pillars of property value

If I had a wish-list of things that I would have found useful it would include:

1) A periodic neighborhood analysis. Similar to the "Living in" feature in the NYT. It would be great to search, for example, for "Midtown East' and get a gist of the kinds of product on the market - not specific listings, per say, but something like "unlike it's neighbor to the north, Midtown East is loaded with mid-priced condos, many with few amenities, which keeps the monthlies low."... a general neighborhood vibe, appreciation trends, etc. Even something a year old or more would give the reader a good starting point.

2) A mash-up of PS zones and real estate prices! I ended up doing this more or less by hand. StreetEasy.com lets you search listings by school zone, which is great, but you have to first identify the good schools on another site (e.g. GreatSchools.net or InsideSchools.org).

I think "families staying in the city" is and will continue to be a major driving force in New York City real estate in the years to come. Whoever pulls updated public school test scores and unit prices together on a map will have a zillion hits. For example, the best "school estate" bargain in Manhattan is the LES! See below. Space in a great PS zone is the holy grail for many buyers of 2+ bedroom units.

Anyway, thanks and keep up the great work, Noah!

+++++

Here was my master list of Manhattan hoods and great public schools.

PS List:

PS # (Name) Address (Zone)

UWS

- 166 (Arts and Tech) 132 W. 89 (W 85-89)
- 9 (Renaissance) 100 W. 84th (W 85-81)
- 334 (Anderson) 100 W. 84th (Lottery)
- 87 (Sherman) 160 West 78th (W 72-80)
- 199 (Isador Straus) 270 W 70th St (W 64 - 72)

UES

- 6 (Lillie Blake) 45 East 81st (E 91-68; 5th-Lex)
- 290 (Manhattan New School) 311 E 82nd (chunks 72-87 E of Lex)*158
- 158 (Bayard Taylor School) 1458 York Ave (chunks 73-86 East 2/York)*290
- 183 (Discovery) 419 E. 66 (E73-60 chunky E of Lex/1st)
- 59 (Beekman Hill) 228 E. 57th St. (E 43 - 68)

Midtown E
- 59 (Beekman Hill) 228 E. 57th St. (E 43 - 68)

Midtoen W & Chelsea

- 51 (Elias Howe) 520 West 45 (W 48-34 Husdon River to 5th Ave)
- 116 (Mary Lindley) 210 East 33 (5th/East River; 43-25)

Downtown West: SoHo/Tribecca/BPC

- 150 (Tribecca Learning Center) 334 Greenwich St. (Pri zones 234/89)
- 234 (Independence School) 292 Greenwich St. (Below Canal)
- 89 201 Warren St. (West of West St. below Canal to Battery Park)

Downtown East: Greenwich Village/East Village/Chinatown

- 41 (Greenwich Village Sch) 116 W 11th St (16/Canal; Broadway)
- New Explorations Sci, Tech, Math 111 Columbia St. (Far East Village)
- 130 (Desoto) 143 Baxter (Houston/Canal; Greene/Bowery)
- 42 (Benjamin Altman) 71 Hester (Delancey/Canal; Bowery/Cllinton)
- 124 (Yung Wing) 40 Division St (Canal/Worth; Lafayette/Bowery)
- 184 (Shuang Wen) 327 Cherry St. (District 1 - LES/Chinatown)
- 1 (Alfred E. Smith) 8 Henry Street (Chinatown)
- 2 (Meyer London School) 122 Henry 2 (Canal/Henry/Chinatown)

Wow! Fantastic comment Caitlin! I love it! Im sure people are going to think I put you up to that or I pai you to write that, so let me just say now that I didnt!

I will review what you would like to see and try to make it happen in the future! Great to have you as a reader!!!

Noah