Noah Rosenblatt: Founder / Publisher of UrbanDigs.com

Noah Rosenblatt is the Founder & Publisher of UrbanDigs.com. The single mission of the site is to discuss macro economic trends and interpret them into successful investment strategies for Manhattan real estate. The blog also discusses real-time state of the market reports on New York City real estate and tips for both buyers and sellers to enhance profit potential.

Before founding UrbanDigs.com, Mr. Rosenblatt graduated from Union College with a BS degree in Psychology. During college, Noah enjoyed numerous stints interning at Salomon Smith Barney and Morgan Stanley alongside top brokers, where he learned many real life lessons that couldn't be taught in any classroom. After college, Noah became a professional NASDAQ equities trader with Tradescape Corp., after following the tradable markets since the age of 13. Noah traded equities from 1998 until mid 2004 professionally and now maintains trading on a smaller scale. Mr. Rosenblatt also maintains friendships with many ex-traders that are now hedge fund managers and derivative traders so that he can stay 'in the loop' with the inside minds.

In 2002, Noah founded The HotSpot Haven, a wi-fi hotspot search engine covering free and pay hotspot locations around the globe. The site offers users with a free downloadable hotspot locator so they can search for hotspots while offline, and offers website and blog publishers with a free API so that they can customize and add hotspot search capabilities to their site.

In late 2007, Noah moved to Halstead after building a successful real estate business since 2004. UrbanDigs.com was registered before becoming a real estate agent, showing the business model of the blog before his real estate career started.

UrbanDigs has shown Noah to be an unbiased, educated source of the overall economy and Manhattan real estate trends. UrbanDigs, LLC, is now its own entity in the Manhattan brokerage community and a member of REBNY. The company is currently in development of information-centric applications to add in the transparency of the dynamic Manhattan real estate marketplace. Initial launch of UrbanDigs Analytics & Consulting is expected in the first quarter of 2010.

You can reach Noah at 'noah' + 'at sign' + 'urbandigs' + dot com.

Christine Toes: Contributing Writer for UrbanDigs.com

It’s no surprise that someone who graduated #1 in her Air Force ROTC basic training class (out of 250 Officer Candidates) would quickly become one of the “Top 25” agents at Citi Habitats, a company of over 750 agents. She recently moved over to Corcoran.

Christine consistently finds customers the best apartments through her astute listening, researching, and negotiating skills. Accessible almost 24 hours a day, customers are astounded by Christine's attention to detail and ability to find them exactly what they are looking for in a short time frame. Christine is also known for her marketing expertise – selling properties for record prices in record time - in part due to her incredible network of over 2,600 contacts.

As a real estate investor herself, Christine has in-depth knowledge of what makes a solid investment. She attends every real estate seminar, reads every industry publication, and constantly previews new developments in order to stay at the top of her game. Christine’s talent for assessing new condo developments has been recognized though her articles on the award-winning real estate blog, Urban Digs, and in Time Out New York.

In her past career as the Director of a non-profit organization, Christine ran events and conferences for audiences of over 800 people. Her Masters Degree in Non-Profit Management from NYU has helped her to build a team of agents that provide the highest level of customer service for her 95%referral business.

In addition to her passion for “everything real estate,” Christine is the President of the Board of Directors for the University of Virginia Club of New York, the spokesperson for the Anita Kaufmann Foundation (which strives to educate the public about epilepsy and seizure disorders) and she recently completed her first Olympic distance triathlon to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Jeff Bernstein: Contributing Writer for UrbanDigs.com

Jeff Bernstein has been a research analyst and professional investor for 19 years. Prior to co-founding Guild Partners, LLC a real estate investment, consulting, and investment banking firm he spent his entire career on Wall Street. He was a portfolio manager at Bankers Trust NY Corp., Strong Funds and Pilgrim Funds and was a founding partner of Manhasset Capital Management an equity long/short hedge fund. His expertise is in market, industry, business and real estate research and analysis and business and real estate valuation. Jeff has analyzed and invested in a diverse array of industries ranging from energy to technology. Long before Noah, he attended Union College and received a B.A. in English.

Jeff will be discussing what he sees on the front lines of the development world, as well as pertinent information gathered from conferences and seminars that he participates in. Topics of posts will cover macro economics, international markets, fiscal policies, development trends, housing trends, contrarian investment strategies, and overall state of the markets.

Beth Olarsch: Contributing Writer for UrbanDigs.com

A self-described political junkie, Beth Olarsch has over 10 years of experience in financial services and banking, with a focus on risk management and regulatory matters, including a stint as a bank regulatory analyst with NY Fed.

Beth will discuss what is going on inside Congress, the Fed, regulatory/policy actions and how that may affect markets, homeowners, and investors. Beth holds a BA in Economics from Boston University and an MBA from the University of Rochester. A two-time finisher of the NYC Marathon, Beth is also fond of good wines and enjoys spending her winter days on the ski slopes.