UrbanDigs.com launching Manhattan residential analytics platform

Noah Rosenblatt, founder of UrbanDigs

UrbanDigs.com is about a month away from launching a real-time Manhattan residential market analytics platform, a data service that reports market trends and figures. 

Noah Rosenblatt, founder of brokerage and real estate research Web site UrbanDigs, said that the analytics program will run through a partnership with real estate database service RealPlus, and will feature a suite of user-friendly analytical tools. The program will be free, with an option to pay an approximately $15-per-month subscription fee for additional features. 

Rosenblatt said that “the desire for more transparency” motivated him to pursue the analytics platform. While he wouldn’t say what specific market indicators will be analyzed until the platform goes live in the first week of May, he said that the platform will look at “every metric worth following in this market.” 

Rosenblatt said the tools may, in the future, cover boroughs outside of Manhattan, but no specific plans are in place yet. 

He said he doesn’t anticipate much competition out of the gate, in part because he’s “unaware of any real-time analytics that people can use to track the Manhattan market.” 

The closest competitor could be Miller Samuel, which provides its own set of Manhattan analytics. 

Jonathan Miller, a Manhattan residential market analyst and CEO of Miller Samuel real estate appraisal group, said that while he’s “a fan” of UrbanDigs.com and he’s excited for the program, he’s unclear on what kind of so-called “real-time” analysis UrbanDigs.com would be capable of providing. 

“It comes down to what the definition of ‘real-time’ is,” Miller said, adding that many would consider a deal done when a contract is signed. Filings to the city, meanwhile, can take weeks to become available. 

“If you’re saying that you have a daily feed and some moving average [of different metrics]… that could be interesting,” Miller said. “But I don’t think it’s like a stock ticker… [and] that’s not how real estate is viewed.” 

With additional reporting by Lauren Elkies