Brick Underground wins silver for best real estate website from the National Association of Real Estate Editors

Drumroll please! Brick has some exciting news of our own to share: The National Association of Real Estate Editors honored Brick Underground with a silver award for best real estate website in a national journalism competition honoring excellence in real estate journalism. Brick has previously won three gold and one silver award for best website at NAREE.

The awards were presented Thursday evening during the organization’s annual conference in Las Vegas.

Here’s what the judges had to say: “Brick Underground’s website is a tour de force, with sections for everyone in New York City: buyers, renters, rehabbers, and advice of all kinds, such as ‘How to break the lease for your NYC apartment.’ The home page is eye-catching, with a banner-style feature story and below it, ‘trending,’ a Netflix-style horizontal offering of top stories. Click through and you will discover well-organized, thoroughly researched stories and guides.”

Brick was recognized in another category as well: Senior writer Emily Myers won silver for our podcast, “Racism and the lack of diversity in the appraisal business.” It is the fourth time our podcast has taken silver.

The judges’ comment was: “Myers tackles racial bias in appraisals, based on an FHFA report that found such discrimination had increased during the pandemic. The 15-minute podcast features New York appraiser Jonathan Miller, who blames the ‘it’s not what you know, it’s who you know’ insularity of the appraisal business. The result is that most in the business became appraisers through friends and family, who traditionally were white. Myers’ probing questions encourage Miller to further demystify the appraisal process. Her delivery is crisp and professional, and the podcast is solidly produced.”

Brick also won silver for best interior design story for an article by contributing writer Evelyn Battaglia, "Want a faster renovation? Artificial intelligence can speed up the design process and save you money." It is Brick’s first time winning this category.

The judges noted: “AI isn't necessarily evil. It can do the grunt work and give cost estimates, giving architects more time to be creative and saving everyone time and money. With easy-to- use websites and mobile apps, users don't even need much tech know-how. Evelyn Battaglia gives helpful information, including the names of innovative companies that specialize in different areas (such as both Skipp and Block Renovation for kitchen and bath renovations). Still, she ultimately makes the case for an experienced pro as the boss of it all.”

What’s coming next for Brick Underground

Our NAREE awards underscore our commitment to Brick’s mission: Helping New Yorkers navigate one of the most expensive and competitive real estate markets in the world. Coming up soon, we will launch a new section that will provide information to empower co-op and condo boards to run their buildings more easily and efficiently.

Our social media coverage continues to expand with video and live events. As always, watch out for our annual forecast in January so you know how to achieve your real estate goals in the new year.

Lastly, a special shoutout to the brave newcomers and New Yorkers making moves in the city who are willing to share their stories with us. To our readers: We deeply appreciate questions and comments from you. You keep us on our toes and inspire our work.

With so many sources of information, we are gratified that so many New Yorkers come to us for intel. We hope we were able to help make your real estate journey a little bit smoother.

As always, we welcome your questions and suggestions for what we should write about next. We look forward to hearing from you.

Jennifer White Karp,
Managing Editor