What do you suppose motivates people to post on sites like Streeteasy?

thats easy...it is an easy way for me to discuss my interests which include manhattan real estate and the market in general. a lot of my friends do not have those interests .

I am with you on that one, flmd. Only thing is, I have another motive. Here is the breakdown for me:

1. 80%
2. 1%
3. 1%
4. 1%
5. 1%
6. 0%
7. 95%

I would add a new category:

8. To annoy Steve: 100%

Not because he is "right" or "wrong" (although I happen to believe that he is more "wrong" than "right"), not because I agree/disagree with everything he says... But because I think it's hilarious to watch how worked up he gets and how he (mis)handles criticism. Criticism which is justified or not, although I believe that at least some of the time I make valid points as to why he might be wrong on something.

That said, just put me on ignore already, Steve. Or not, because if we don't have any form of discourse, it will be no fun for me, and I like fun.

My motivation for getting on to StreetEasy is to talk the market down.

I have wanted to buy a place in Manhattan for years but can't afford it. Actually, I can afford it but I am really cheap and really scared.

So, I get on here with some frequency and muster all the gloom and doom I can to scare other people out of buying. My hope is to drive inventory up and scare sellers into lowering prices.

My goal is to scare people about a return to the 70s and crack, and dirty streets, crime, and car window washers all over the place. My hope is to bring Jimmy Carter and Abe Beame back. Well, maybe Jimmy Carter.

Lately, I have been getting a lot of help from the government and the national news media but it is making me nervous because my other assets are losing value and I still do not own a place in Manhattan. And with all the increase in crime and window washers and the like, I am not sure why anyone would want to own a place here. Hmm, maybe I should check out the Seattle real estate blogs and try to drive the prices there down some more...

For the past year, my motivation has been to post incessantly about how prices in Manhattan always go up. I've been telling people to buy now or be priced out forever. I like to post NY Times articles and repeat what brokers say. I quote brokerage reports whenever I can.

The reason why I do this is of course because I own NYC real estate. In fact, I just bought an apartment recently, and not only my net worth but my entire sense of self-worth is tied up pretty much entirely in the value of my apartment.

I own not only in the Village but also in LIC, and at the Toren. Which is why you'll see me start threads on how great LIC and the Toren are. I'll fight anyone to the death defending these investments, even in the face of all logic. I'll create multiple poster identities to convey the sense that I am not, in fact, alone in my thinking.

Look, I'm not scared. Even though I'm highly levered on a huge bet on NYC real estate. Really. I have not been posting much lately, but don't take that as a sign at all that I no longer believe Manhattan prices will continue to shoot up to the sky.

Because they will. Manhattan prices will never go down. Even if they already have.

My reason for posting is that all of my posts are fair and balanced. I have no dog in this fight. I have never even been to Manhattan.

I like real estate (and building and remodeling) a lot and it consumes many of my waking hours.

If NYC real estate is the impossible dream, then my Florida holdings are the nightmare.

Sometimes I can even post stuff that is my opinion and then go back later and self-reference what I have written to give it credibility.

And, most of all, look at the sophisticated style and literacy and rhetoric displayed in the previous four posts. Each and every one a semiotic jewel. Congratulations, posters, and keep up the good work.

We do not post that much-- but we are on this site everyday. But I post to pass the time in between job searches (recently laid off). My husband posts/logs into this site to track sales, analyze comps for a future purchase. We are also curious as to what all the "sideliners" are doing with their cash-- now that it is established that "cash is king".

I post because I never leave the house and you people are the closest thing I have had to a real conversation in 3 years. Plus, I crack myself up.

I post because I'm my cup of tea.

I try to paint a macro economic picture (as bad I have ever seen it) in some of my posts in order to hopefully help others make a more informed purchase decision. I think much too often, folks get caught up in this week's inventory figures, this or that price drop and tend to focus way too much on the trees and giving much too little thought to the forest

I have always found RE to be an interesting subject and hence my interest. It's also fun to see others take on the outlook the RE market. I don't have a financial interest in the NYC RE market as there are more predictable investment opportunities out there today to spend much time with it. I have my strong suspicions where it may be headed and it will be interesting to watch from the sidelines what actually occurs over the next 1,2&3 years.

I post because I'm always right. Unless I'm wrong. In which case, everyone else is wrong too.

I'm on StreetEasy so that I can crash the market and buy your classic six for half of what you bought it for!!!! HA HA HA HA

I bought, fixed-up, and flipped Manhattan apartments from 1992 to 2005. It was not only a really fun and profitable hobby, but extremely satisfying as well because I felt that by taking a space that needed some TLC and fixing it up, I really added some value to Manhattan, and, hopefully, provided someone else with a decent place to live. Now, I feel like the opportunity to buy, fix-up, and flip is very limited, but I'm hopeful that someday soon those opportunities will exist, which is why I log on to Streeteasy from time to time - to get a feel for whether or not the time has come to be a buyer once again.

mrsblogs...you were fixing up apts and providing someone with a decent place to live. That leads me to believe you did not sell these apartments at prices that the average, hard working middle/lower class person could not afford. I applaud you and appreciate your spirit of giving.

Keep up the good work, nyevets!

Keep up the good work, Yesman! Very funny.

THIS WAS LARGELY MY ORIGINAL POSTING:

What do you suppose motivates people to post on sites like Streeteasy?

On a scale of 1% to 100%, for example, how important would the following be for posters in general? (Feel free to add additional categories.)

1. To gain real estate market insights/knowledge: 80%
2. To have an ego trip: 20%
3. To pontificate and feel important: 55%
4. To help others: 50%
5. To vent frustration: 30%
6. To feel less lonely: 10%
7. To take a break at work. The new water cooler. 55%

WHAT DO YOU SUPPOSE MOTIVATES "RUFUS" TO POST?

shits

and

giggles

water-cooler chat in lieu of having a water cooler and/or co-workers who can talk about anything but American Idol's last episode - curiosity to see why I'm so wrong about real estate in New York coming down - curiosity to see what other people are thinking and doing re: real estate/investments - curiosity to know what's happening with various neighborhoods as they change - finally, shock and disbelief and horror at how what I had thought would happen begins to unfold basically how I had thought it would, albeit many years later - curiosity about what is to be learned, and curiosity about what other people take from it, if anything at all

Topper,

When you conduct a poll, the percentages cannot add up to over 100%.

Topper has collateralized those percentages so that the total can be more than 100%. It's the new new new economy!