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October 24, 2008

Real Estate Blogs "A Great Forum to Vent Anger"

The Wall Street Journal delves into the world of real estate blogs this morning, with a focus on their commenting culture, to see how they're faring as the housing crisis continues. "Thanks to the housing crisis, real-estate blogs are blooming not only in number, but in nastiness, as thousands of strangers swap stinging critiques of high-end homes hitting the market." The paper looks at the fallout from the jabs, citing one house seller who tuned in to Brownstoner and saw his property getting the royal treatment, from us and from the commenters, alike. "Readers quickly chimed in, citing overuse of track lighting and black granite and calling the border on the bathtub 'hideous' and the furniture 'cheesy,'" they write. "'They're probably hipsters — people who live really grungy,' counters Dr. Fernandez, noting that the bathroom tiles are handmade and the 'cheesy' furniture cost over $100,000." When another owner wrote in to defend her property, she was welcomed and called brave by, well, you guys. That's right: you can be nice. What the article doesn't say is that we have seen community forged from these pages at events like the commenters' party earlier this month.
Housing Blogs Throw Stones [WSJ]

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Poor old doc Fernandez, money can't buy taste as they say.

Posted by: dittoburg at October 24, 2008 9:33 AM

The Deal did a story on how the real estate blogs effect sales back in July. Here's a link http://ny.therealdeal.com/articles/real-estate-sites-rise-in-bloglyn-FriJul2517064904002008

Posted by: just me at October 24, 2008 9:35 AM

I don't think the furniture was "cheesy" but that bathtub border sure was. Sorry Doc!!! I'm not a hipster and I don't give grungy. My furniture in various places runs from 18th C to the Victorian pieces I have here in my brownstone.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at October 24, 2008 9:37 AM

the "cheesy" furniture cost over $100,000. "I didn't really want to buy it -- that was my wife -- but that's another subject," he adds.

Ditto: 'Poor old doc Fernandez, money can't buy taste as they say.'

or a wive with taste.

Posted by: bayridgegirl at October 24, 2008 9:44 AM

^^^^ I think my comment above is what they meant by nastiness.

The article failed to acknowledge that we really go to town when presented with a Mill Basin Property.

Posted by: bayridgegirl at October 24, 2008 9:48 AM

im pretty damn grungy sometimes. aint no shame in that!

-rob

Posted by: PitbullNYC at October 24, 2008 9:53 AM

BRG - you're right, they really didn't do us justice, they made us out to be kittens really.

Posted by: dittoburg at October 24, 2008 9:53 AM

BRG...you did take a nasty pill this morning. You go girl!!!

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at October 24, 2008 9:55 AM

I actually agree with WSJ. Many 'commentators' in Curb and Brownstoner are typical bloggers - angry, bitter, high-horsed, etc. You know why? It is easy. It does not take any intelligence. There is no accountability. For all we know many of the commentators are renters in a sh!t hole in East New York with hand me down Ikea furniture.

Of course it does not change the fact that you can't buy good taste. Nevertheless, RE bloggers dispense their 2 cents as if they are actual authority.

Posted by: crimsonson at October 24, 2008 9:57 AM

Funny, there weren't any articles like this one in the WSJ talking about how everyone in these blogs was talking UP the market when it was exploding for the past 3 years.....But when the markets go down of course blame the bloggers!

I think these blogs have their fingers on the pulse of the cities they are in. Whether markets are going up or down. We are literally all up in the asses of the communities we live in! And I love it!

Posted by: Dora Chica at October 24, 2008 10:00 AM

i want rainbow recessed lighting :(

Posted by: PitbullNYC at October 24, 2008 10:01 AM

crimsonson...otherwise known as Dick Tracy, "Master of the Obvious."

And the next snarky remark would be..."Do you have anything to sdd to the post other than commenting on the posters?" :)

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at October 24, 2008 10:02 AM

This should be good for a hundred+ posts...

Posted by: cobblehiller at October 24, 2008 10:06 AM

I have to disagree crimson, I've seen some very erudite base comments on here.

This is all getting meta-referential.

Posted by: dittoburg at October 24, 2008 10:07 AM

Wht doesn't the What ever post about the interior trappings of these homes??

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at October 24, 2008 10:09 AM

Nasty indeed. I had a bad week.

What people like Dr. F don't realize, is that this is great exposure for their property. It's free advertising in essence. They don't realize how many people read this blog. A serious home buyer knows what the comps are, knows that furniture is not part of the sale, etc., etc.

'Still, he says his five-year-old son was thrilled to see it on the computer.'
Dr. F, should be careful what he shows his kid on-line, it could traumatize him for life.
A 5 year old could learn alot from reading brownstoner. Maybe, the what should start baby sitting.

Posted by: bayridgegirl at October 24, 2008 10:10 AM

Yeah BRG, keep it up and people will think you're being outrageously inflammatory and provocative! ;-)

Posted by: Biff Champion at October 24, 2008 10:13 AM

What I find funny is there's no picture of the hideous bathroom but we all remember it. It really was THAT bad! For the record, just because something is handmade does not automatically make it tasteful.

Look, when something is posted here it's so that it can be commented on. For every home decor I trash there are several I wish I had. However, when it stinks...I say Pewww!

Posted by: TownhouseLady at October 24, 2008 10:19 AM

BRG - with all due respect - I don't think BS and Curbed readers are the constituents of such seller. There is a large (if majority in my guess) that are rental here. And any buyers left are overwhelmingly the sub $1 million range. I really don't think this is the place where high-end buyers go to when looking for RE - let alone opinion about RE. This is rental-low-middle market at best.

Posted by: crimsonson at October 24, 2008 10:22 AM

You're wrong. it takes alot of intelligence to come up with these comments. Have you been reading them? They're sharp, witty, clever. An idiot could never think of these. They would just call people names.

After meeting some of the regular posters on this blog, I can assure you that the accountability is there. They come from all walks of life and professions. Architects, designers, lawyers, financal advisers, artists, etc. We all love Brooklyn and townhouses.

I met people that said they never posted on a blog before and this is the only one they go to (me too). We come on here to find out what's going on in our communities, discuss and sometimes goof off.

BTW - Ikea rocks!

Posted by: bayridgegirl at October 24, 2008 10:26 AM

Yes you're right on the mark crimsonson (are you the descendant of a permanently embarrassed Icelander?), people generally go to the professionals, the brokers. Because thats where you get the truth about the place they are trying to sell to you.

Posted by: dittoburg at October 24, 2008 10:32 AM

I don't read or post on any other blogs. I don't want to escalate an already enabled addiction.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at October 24, 2008 10:33 AM

It's true that there is sometimes a lot of nastiness on this list but the community can actually be very helpful too. In my years of looking for real estate, and considering various real estate decisions, it has been helpful to read this blog as additional information/context for how I think about real estate. Also, the forum provides very concrete, helpful advice. And yes, it can be fun to indulge in the addiction that clearly a lot of the regular posters share. I do wish things would not get as nasty as they sometimes do, but I suppose that's the nature of an anonymous blog, particularly one about such an emotional subject, real estate, which touches upon such deep stuff as class, ideas about "home", and for some, one's very identity.

Posted by: Miss Muffett at October 24, 2008 10:34 AM

I am constantly surprised by the people who have never read or sometimes never even heard of Brownstoner. I mean, haven't blogs simply replaces all those free throwaway papers people used to get from cafes and such?

It's fascinating to hear stories of how people "discover" various new websites; very illuminating.

Posted by: infinitejester at October 24, 2008 10:35 AM

'Yeah BRG, keep it up and people will think you're being outrageously inflammatory and provocative! ;-)'

Will do, Biff.

I had chocolate for breakfast, my head is spinning from the sugar and I'm sharpening my tongue.

THL - if you go to the link 'his property'...you will see the post and then the link to the listing. That bathroom was bad and your 'house' was juicy.

Posted by: bayridgegirl at October 24, 2008 10:38 AM

I only read Am New York, Metro and all that other crap when someone leaves them in the men's room!!

My colleagues, most who live outside of NY, love brownstoner. None of them have registered yet...just lurking

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at October 24, 2008 10:40 AM

Oh yeah...duh! Thanks BRG

Posted by: TownhouseLady at October 24, 2008 10:43 AM

"the brokers... thats where you get the truth about the place they are trying to sell to you. "

Now THAT is comedy gold!

Posted by: SnarkSlope at October 24, 2008 10:49 AM

" I really don't think this is the place where high-end buyers go to when looking for RE - let alone opinion about RE"

Please do provide a description of where us owners and buyers do go so that we can roundly criticize it roundly.

In any event - don't these blogs provide a necessary foil to the over-effusive saccharine blathering hyper-excited hogwash that brokers provide. Awesome, stunning, breathtaking, spectacular. The kind of words that the rest of us only use when visting the Grand Canyon.

Posted by: dittoburg at October 24, 2008 10:49 AM

This blog is a fun way to kill time, debate a little, hopefully educate and learn, and hear what's on the minds of some fellow Brooklynites. No doubt there are some pretty accomplished folks here. But based on some of the stuff I've read, meeting some posters here would easily be among the worst occurrences I could imagine.

Posted by: East New York at October 24, 2008 11:15 AM

ENY...I assume you're talking about me. Did you figure out yet that the elimination of term limits does not mean the same thing as an extended term for Bloomberg and that he still has to run for election??

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at October 24, 2008 11:25 AM

"In any event - don't these blogs provide a necessary foil to the over-effusive saccharine blathering hyper-excited hogwash that brokers provide."

That is the problem. Most comments, certainly not all, are off the cuff remarks. It is difficult to take anything without a huge grain of salt. Often comments become more of an entertaining item than informative and/or sincere. It would take a huge filter BS to find them.

Let us not forget that most people, especially those making the BIGGEST investment of their entire life, is not going to 'OMFG Dubai/Trump ROFL NIMBY crap!' from a random internet poster seriously. If you do, well... I guess I understand why we are in this market.

Yes you do need a counterpoint from the subhuman that is the broker. But casual commentating from a RE blog sites like Curb and BS is not one of the. Or at least they are low in the totem pole.

I'm pretty sure visiting the unit, personal recommendations and public data (school, value, etc) is where most (rich or poor) go for their information. Curb and BS is really RE entertainment.

Posted by: crimsonson at October 24, 2008 11:30 AM

snarking at high-end homes is the new york real estate equivalent of celebrity gawking. some people enjoy nitpicking gwyneth paltrow's oscar dress and makeup. others enjoy harping on the bathroom tile in a $3 million home. it's all a form of empowerment to the masses; if we can't have it, we don't like it.

Posted by: z at October 24, 2008 11:31 AM

crimsonson...that truly deserves to be the QOTD. Well put..

"That is the problem. Most comments, certainly not all, are off the cuff remarks. It is difficult to take anything without a huge grain of salt. Often comments become more of an entertaining item than informative and/or sincere. It would take a huge filter BS to find them.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at October 24, 2008 11:33 AM

not true. most of the stuff on this site i can have and maybe never will, but i like it anyway! :-/

Posted by: PitbullNYC at October 24, 2008 11:36 AM

"if we can't have it, we don't like it."

That means I don't like that 1955 gullwing Mercedes.

Posted by: dittoburg at October 24, 2008 11:45 AM

What, that horrible overrated golfcart with wings? ;).

Posted by: cmu at October 24, 2008 12:44 PM

ditto...that's a beauty...hope one day you get to have it.

It's now up there with my favorite cars. I'm not a car buff, but I love 1950's and early 60's roadsters.

Posted by: bayridgegirl at October 24, 2008 12:54 PM

"ENY...I assume you're talking about me."

No, actually I was referring to posters of a more mendacious type whose views on race, class and sexual orientation come off as quite backward. You're not of that ilk, although you do seem to be a pretty superficial person in general. Then again, posts can be deceiving - maybe you're OK. The point is, I don't care. I won't be meeting up with any Brownstone posters (intentionally, that is). I have fun posting here, but I don't need a blog to make friends.

"Did you figure out yet that the elimination of term limits does not mean the same thing as an extended term for Bloomberg and that he still has to run for election??"

You were right Dave, I was wrong. There will be an election in 2009. Feel free to have yourself a cookie.

My problem was with the process was the Mayor's back-room deal to create a City Council vote. It was a clear circumvention of the democratic process, considering the people have already voted twice for term limits. Bloomberg is now guilty he same back-office, rich-boys-network tactics for which he once lampooned other politicians. Now that he's gotten away with it once, who knows when he'll try it again? This is a pretty bad precedent.

Posted by: East New York at October 24, 2008 1:00 PM

Hey, it's educational. Thank god there is now a public forum where we can make fun of the shocking ruination of our housing stock.

I am deeply sorry WSJ missed the little "hep of poop" scandal over at BushwickBK. A real estate agent made a complete fool of herself trying to defend herself by posting multiple times anonymously.

Maybe Brownstoner could offer classes to agents, developers, builders, and remodelers. Agents: Use spellcheck and take photos. Builders: Make the ceilings high and the windows big. Remodelers: No country cupboards from Home Depot, don't stain the floors purple, and don't build closets that jut out into rooms and hallways.

Posted by: mopar at October 24, 2008 1:39 PM

« CB6 Okays Toll Brothers' Spot Rezoning Where To Now, Yassky and de Blasio? »

October 24, 2008

Real Estate Blogs "A Great Forum to Vent Anger"

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