Urban Edge (urbanedgeny.com)
The frequently refreshed listings on this site, which are never more than 18 days old, come directly from owners, property managers and leasing managers—no broker postings allowed. Tired of filling out the same search form every morning? Sign up for Urban Edge’s tailored Twitter feed, covering new rentals in the nabe of your choice; listings will come to you.

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We are proud to announce that MapThatPad now interfaces with New York based real estate listing website, UrbanEdge.  In fact, as you see in the image above, UrbanEdge listings have an image right on the website which allows you to save it!  So you have three ways to save an UrbanEdge listing into MapThatPad: click on the icon on the listing as shown above, copy-past the listing URL, or use the MapThatPad bookmarklet.

Just like us, our friends at UrbanEdge are committed to making the apartment hunting process easier. First of all, apartment hunters want real listings of real apartments with real addresses and that is exactly what they provide.  Also, let's face it, broker aren't for everyone - they can be pushy, misleading, and ask for a fee.  UrbanEdge works directly with the owners and property managers of the apartments listed on their site.  This means that their database is real and kept up to date.  You don't have to click through multiple listings for the same apartment posted by different brokers or owners as on other sites.  Simply put: no brokers; no re-posts; no fees; no bs.  They also have a great Renter's Guide section that helps newbies navigate through some treacherous real estate terminology and a Neighborhood Guide that helps New-Yorkers and New-New-Yorkers learn what's what with different neighborhoods.  So, overall they're a great resource for your NYC apartment hunt - make sure you give them a try on your next one!  We sure are fans.

Joining Webby nominees nytimes.com/realestate and nakedaparments.com in the New York market is urbanedgeny.com, which just launched on 14 April. The website’s focus is on simplicity: “It shouldn’t take a genius to find your perfect home,” the homepage declares.

urbanedgeny.com is only allowing listings from landlords, bypassing brokers. It is not charging for these listings or for house hunter access. The new website explains that it makes money from “value-added” marketing services for property owners and managers.

“We syndicate owner listings around the web. We build websites, we create and install signage, create and place Internet ads, and a whole lot more,” urbanedgeny.com says, before emphasising that its users are not obliged to buy these services.

urbanedgeny.com is also making use of Twitter to promote its listings. Each day at 4pm, users receive a Twitter feed of all the day’s new listings matching their desired neighbourhood and home type.

“This site gives the power back to the consumer. It allows free flow of information for a more efficient marketplace, saving owners and consumers lots of money,” said Ilana Schwartz, vice president of new business development for urbanedgeny.com.

While urbanedgeny.com is entering a market that already includes a number of established players, it says “hundreds of major landlords” are already using it to list their properties.

via www1.propertyportalwatch.com