Pundit - FWIW, I don't think it's much of a guise in either case. Most readers are well aware that BR articles and Illuzzi rants are seldom objective journalism. I don't think either BR or Illuzzi even claim to be anything other than opinion blogs with some heavily filtered fact reporting - which can of course can be said for the vast majority of blogs. At least unlike Illuzzi, BR allows most people to comment which usually results in some balance as some provided here and sometimes fact correction. I perceived this article as more Buffalo cheerleading than advertising, but who knows.

BuffaloGeek,

In other words, you wrote advertorials for your landlord under the guise of normal everyday blog posts to help bolster your business and his. Was that part of the deal when you moved in? "We will talk you up on our blogs if you cut a deal with us."

Sounds dirty to me!

You should really just admit it. Maybe have a disclaimer on the site listing which blog posts are advertorials and which are not.

Hello everyone. This is my first post on BR so please do not jump at me:-). I have noticed what people have been saying as an improvement in many areas of Buffalo. Living a few blocks from Richmond westward, in the once scary neighborhoods of the west side I purchases my first house. I'm still in college, young, 24, and love living in the city. I looked at over 40 houses before I choosing mine and lucked out. The previous owner was an out of towner who began to fix up my house and made many updates to it, but like many others got ripped off by property managers. My house was vacant for 12 months with homeless people living in it. From the time I have moved in to now (just about 2 years) my house is a gem in this neighborhood. Living one block off york street I have slowly seen the drug actively dying, heroin addicts less and less. From first had experience I have seen many owner occupied housing come into this neighborhood. I think the cheap real estate in this area is a plus for Buffalo. It gives prospective buying the opportunity to purchase a home. The problem still is that each street is hit an miss. Coming off Richmond see for yourself. 16th street amazing, 15th eh not so bad, 14th scary, Normal ave coming back, plymouth D'youville is buying the whole street. In short, I believe the lower property prices helps Buffalo by allow young individuals such as me move in and live in the neighborhoods that were once scary and off limits and turn them around.

I moved to Buffalo last summer and bought a home six months ago. I would not have even considered buying property on the east coast from where I came. It was simply too expensive and would have been a burden for a long time. When I moved to Buffalo, not only could I afford a house and comfortably make my payments but I found a home that I truly love. I don't care if my new home appreciates more or less than somewhere else. I hope that Buffalo doesn't experience a boom similar to what we saw throughout much of the country because as we learned it is not a sustainable path and ultimately more value is destroyed than is created. My home is not an investment. It is a place for me to live. And Buffalo is the first place I've lived in, among five others, that I wanted to make my home.

whataboutbob, thanks, I'd be honored, you know where to find me.

oh come come, BP isn't that bad. Although it does get a little old that everytime BRO does a story on a business he chimes in about advertisements and payment. I wonder how much the Somali Star, Vargas, Brickhouse BBQ and the innumerable other tiny restaurants paid? Probably nothing just as MJ probably paid to get this post. I think they do a good job covering both the big businesses and the small ones. Hopefully to their benefit of drawing in advertising dollars and exposing people to businesses they may or may not have ever seen.

Buffalo probably has one of the sanest real estate markets in the country. No real estate bubble, property values not declining, minimal subprime mortgage exposure, no overbuilding of condos and single-family homes, and a diversified employment base. Proximity to Canada and its strong dollar also helps. Way to go!

Chaz, yes, we are building a new media collaborative with our partner and landlord. Are we handling the work on the physical plant of the building? No. We are marketing the space, recruiting companies, and trying to build a freelance media collective. If you'd like more details on how you can join, shoot me an email. It's in my profile. Thanks for caring!

As for the location on Elmwood, it served it's purpose. We outgrew the space, needed something different and moved over to Niagara Street. We have a larger space now that comes with presentable furniture, air conditioning, bathrooms that work, and everything! See, we started out small and didn't put much money into overhead expenses and instead focused on growing our business. Our first year was up and down, but things are going very well for us. Emerging profitably from the first year of incorporation is quite an accomplishment, and we're pretty proud of it.

If you'd like more information about how it is that we make money, what we do, and how we do it...you are more than welcome to sign a NDA and we'll provide you with a presentation.

we don't trash anyone, right?"

BR trashes a lot. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, but to deny it is silly.

- Basar Issa's construction workers for not wanting to work for $7/hour in jobs where they wren't provided OSHA-required safety gear

- CVS for having blocked windows

- Wilson Farms for having a parking lot and being tragic

- RisingDamp666 for being from out of town

- Tillinghast residents who QE tore apart about the FLW zoning change issue

What am I forgetting? Anyhow ECB, seriously, you'll feel better if you just admit you're no better than the rest of us. I'm not saying you're any worse, but you're no better. Admit some flaws, admit some mistakes freely and without excuses. It's empowering really. Maybe, in hindsight, subconsciously and without sinister intent - advertisers get a little extra love which maybe could be noted, and when you feel it's deserved you do trash people and businesses soundly. It's ok, really.

Leadi - There are exceptions to every rule. The vacancy phenomenon that enabled you to buy your house significantly under market value is still going on in most parts of the city. You mention most of the exceptions above, and can add the higher-end houses in North Buffalo to that list. My question is, what did you pay for the house and where does it stand now at 3x the value. I would be surprised if you paid $100K and it is now worth $300K, the scenario is probably more of paying $60K and the house is now worth $180K. This house in other areas probably would have returned a 10x - 12x return on investment, especially in an attractive and growing area like Elmwood (think Alexandria, VA or Sommerville, MA).

1. Calling BP unsuccesful is odd. As far as I know, he's the most-read blogger in town who a) actually calls himself one and b) isn't a bank robber.

2. His allegation -- that BRO sells coverage -- is either true or untrue, regardless of what anyone feels about him. And I haven't seen a denial yet. ECB's posts here aren't denials.

3. His allegation either matters or it doesn't. In the grand scheme, who cares? Still, some clarity about what is real self-generated coverage and what is bought and paid for would be a service to readers. There's a difference between writing a positive article because that's your editorial policy, and writing one because someone paid for it.

The problem, Allfit, is that if you bought that house for 600K three years ago and it is now worth 400K, you can either walk away or have a ridiculously high monthly payment. And having neighborhoods of new and nice houses where 50% are being foreclosed is the definition of insanity. Not what is going on in Buffalo.

The majority of the country DID NOT have this scenario. Take away CA, AZ, NV, FL, WA, DC and much of the northeast, the scenarios are very similar to Buffalo. Look at Texas. The state is booming, population has exploded, and property values probably have not done much better than they have in Buffalo. The midwest, mountain states and most of the south did not have a real estate boom.

Another reason that the Buffalo median has remained low is because of all the $20,000 sales on the east side. Yes, that area has not appreciated. It would be interesting to know the median price in Buffalo ten years ago and today, excluding the east side.

Good evening everyone, my name is Joe ( I am one of the Realtors interviewed in the article ) I find it quite entertaining to read the various comments posted. There are the obvious, who know little or nothing about the Real Estate market, and some who do, there are some ( like Dash) who are just grateful to be able to purchase a home that they can afford and enjoy, and those who are proud of our city. There are those who just want to criticize, ( even grammar ) cry, bitch, and moan, no matter what the article is about and go off on their own self attention tangent. It is easy and takes no talent or intelligence to criticize or accuse others of ulterior motives. What I would like to know is what makes a Real Estate company different from another business? Shoe fly, a bike shop, a hair salon or restaurant. Isn't this what BR is about? People and Businesses that invest their time and money in our city. I left another Real Estate company to work for Peterson when I heard they wanted to open up a city office because I have personally invested a lot in this city and was excited to be able to be a part of it. To set the record straight for those who didn't take the time to fully read this article, we were speaking about a (specific market), that being The Elmwood village, Allentown, Parkside area, and how property values have increased, which they have. Not the east side, lower west side, So. Buffalo or the burbs. For those neophytes that think they can do a market analysis, it's not as easy as one thinks and you need to have access to the correct data and plug in the right data. A few wrong clicks and your numbers will reflect that. For those of you who speak of the ( bubble ) well that gets complicated, and I don't think anyone wants to read a book, but rest assure, we're safe. Most all of the housing problems was due to speculators increasing inventory with pre-construction builds, hoping to sell them for a profit, and the buyers ran out, ex. AZ,FL CA. For those of you who haven't noticed, we don't have any room to build here in the city so that will never happen. We have a VERY healthy market, probably one of the healthiest in the country. And no, I don't see prices dropping here. (Again), in the specific market we discussed. I do however feel for those who have gotten priced out of the market. As for BR, I was sold on them the minute I saw their publication and what they stood for, also the fact that they didn't have the back pages filled with smut. But of course you can't please everyone. Excuse me for advertising. My hats off to Elena, Newell, and the rest of the crew. Keep up the good work, besides, we got to give the naysayers and the ones who think they own BR something to bitch about, don't we. If had to bet, they probably don't even own property. PS. Elena, don't spend that briefcase of cash we gave you to do the article in one place..

BuffaloPundit+BuffaloGeek (JohnMartin)=WNYmediaFAIL

Go save Santa's Park or something else of equal importance!

I honestly think you are jealous.

Pundit, I don't know if its the case with MJ Peterson, or how much you really understand about professional publications - but that is exactly the way that most local professional publications, outside of major newspapers, work. Just because you haven't generated a cash cow out of your site, whether you're trying to or not, doesn't mean another publication shouldn't. Buffalo Spree gives editorial for major ad buys, the Bee publications do it, any of the regional Niagara newspapers do it, papers in Canada do it. Thats the way it works. I just find your incessant criticism, of BR childish and kind of a "sore loser" mentality. No I don't work for BR or have any vested interest, but I do get sick of the stupid bias comments.

I just fear that by the time I will be able to afford a house I am not going to be able to get anything close to where I would have liked. I feel like I was born 10 years too late to get in on the best of city living before others caught on. Not that other neighborhoods are bad but there are just a few places where someone without a car could actually live well and those areas are quickly getting priced out. Good for the city, bad for those trying to live car free at least until other neighborhoods start to develop the density of shops and retail that some enjoy today.

All in all this is still great news for the city.

I think it's a fair question. Of course, I wish Joe the best of luck with his business. I would just like to know if this was a paid advertisement or not. I didn't see a clear answer. Maybe I missed it.

This also relates to the integrity of WBFO because of their collaboration with this website.

I believe Pundit/Geek/Martin meant they physically outgrew their Elmwood Rising space- as in the doors weren't wide enough for their large heads and even larger girth.

@BuffaloPUndit

There is no denial about writing the advertorial in your comment. All you say is there was no deal for rent. That is pretty telling. WNYmediaFAIL should practice what it preaches and come clean about what posts they have that are paid promotion and which are not especially on your blog.

Come on Buffalo Geek and Buffalo Pundit, are you building a new media collaborative or are you just renting a room at a place more in your price range from your former Elmwood Avenue address that once housed the WNYmediaFAIL giant.

You guys crack me up. You are really an important voice on the local media scene. N O T I guess in your minds you think you are.

Right now WNYmediaFAIL is at Media -1.3

Maybe when you are renting space at the "Y" you will get up to Media -.15

Its pretty much the same couple of people all the time, and once again I'm kicking myself for even bothering to post about it. Stop causing me to waste my own time!

Buffalo's real estate market is not "Sane" it is depressed. Our home prices remained flat because we missed the real estate boom, and the personal wealth that went along with it. We missed out on the revenue surplus that many cities experienced as a result of escalating property values, and the resulting infrastructure improvements funded by this surplus. When you look at other real estate markets, you will find that housing prices are still much higher than they were 10 years ago. The bubble deflated but didn't burst as some would have you believe. If you look at a house in some of these markets, you may have purchased in 20 years ago for $200K, the value may have peaked at $600K, and it may now sit at $400K. A similar house in Buffalo may have been purchased at $200K 20 years ago, peaked at $280K and now sits at $260K. There is a tremendous difference in the return on investment. (this is purely a hypothetical scenario, so I hope you can see the point). The return is the difference between investing in well performing stocks or investing in EE savings bonds.

In terms of walkable communities, I don't believe that there will be a shortage any time soon. Just walk a mile away from the house on Huntington, and you can take your pick of any number of houses for under $50,000, some under $10,000. All in pedestrian friendly communities, within walking distance to public transportation, stores, etc. You may need to hurry on some of those because instead of having 125 people line up for an open house, you have to compete with the bulldozers and dump trucks to get the houses before they are destroyed. Just 1760 yards away from the in demand house on Huntington.

i liked the article. people always want to rain on this publications parade... why?

No David, BR was not paid a penny, as I mentioned, why would we be any different from anyone else, did you see all the press Hunt got last month. They don't advertise.

Platt,

That is so funny. I also thought JohnMartin was Geek.

I say plenty of unpleasant things here with my own name, thank you very much. As for this issue of whether or not BR sells advertorials/editorials, I really don't care. hth! Also, we're doing just fine over at our own little company on Niagara Street, you should stop down at the new media collaborative we're building. http://tinyurl.com/5rnarg

We're investing in our community and we're doing quite well, thanks for caring!

Buffalopundit 5 ratings12345 Today, 10:00 How much did MJ Peterson pay for this advertorial, or was it part of their ad buy package?

You can add M&T Bank to that question also. By the way, all banks offer those specials not just M&T. IF YOU WANT THE BEST DEAL USE A MORTGAGE BROKER!!!!!!

First of all, let's define "advertorial" for the purposes of discussing our office space.

As per wikipedia, "An advertorial is an advertisement written in the form of an objective opinion editorial, and presented in a printed publication — usually designed to look like a legitimate and independent news story. Advertorials differ from publicity advertisements because the marketer must pay a fee to the media company for the ad placement, whereas publicity is placed without payment to the media company and with no control over the copy."

In the two articles that were posted on Alan's page and the frontpage of WNYM, there was no exchange of money or discount offered in rent for the posting of that material. As stated in both articles written about our office space, the developer stumbled into a conversation we were having on the blogs about coworking. He reached out to us and invited us down to see what he was building. We were interested, signed a lease, and asked the developer if we could try to build a media collaborative in the space. He gave us a few months to fill it before he went about filling it with whomever would rent. Also, in the articles, we referenced that there was a partnership between ourselves and the developer which allowed us to attempt to fill the space. No discounts or cash were exchanged and we provided full disclosure of all details.

For the purposes of this discussion, I'll share with you our definition of media collaborative. "A professional and cool office space in which freelance videographers, journalists, filmmakers, writers, designers, and programmers can work together and utilize each other's talents to generate more business for one another." The thinking was, it would be nice to have a group of professionals which would allow any to bid on projects that prior to joining the collaborative, they might not have had the skills/resources with which to bid. So, that's what we're trying to build. If you have some sort of issue with that or don't believe me, well, I don't know what to tell you. Also, to follow up on Alan's point...we have never accepted money or consideration for the posting of any content.

Finally, yes, we outgrew our tiny office on Elmwood. There were some issues with the space, but the landlord was great. It seemed unnecessary to have a dedicated solo office space when we did most of our work from home and the video and film shoots rarely happened in our office. I'd say that 90% of our business was conducted either "on location" or in someone else's space. In the end, the office was empty just about every day except for the night time when our web guy came in to work by himself.

When we stumbled into this current situation, we thought it was an opportunity to try out the collaborative idea that we had been back burner planning for a couple of months. I didn't have to buy the building or renovate the space, which removed the risk. It also allowed us to invest in new equipment rather than build out space.

If things work out the way we hope, in a year or so we might be buying our own building in which to move our collaborative. If it fails, well, we didn't risk much.

As always, thanks so much for reading our sites and taking the time to comment everywhere we go!

Sally, I believe that article refers to the Buffalo Niagara region as a whole, not specifically the city of Buffalo.

Sorry. I meant to say, you would NOTE...

Did BRO get paid to write this article? Still no clear answer.

If you eliminated the entire East Side from the statistics, you would not that there has been signficant price appreciation in Buffalo over the last five years. The East Side is still stuck @ $20,000. Those sales bring down the overall median and mean.

ok thank you

lol wow, your unreal...

wabob, i was referring to davvid

Eliotspitzer: Last Login 1 week, 3 days ago

Funny how someone can add a comment today, and not actually log in for more than week. Smells like an inside job to me.

I agree with the upswing in demand for city properties. There were about 125 people who toured 255 Huntington Ave at the open house this weekend and it's not even listed on the ML system yet!

Right on cue- here comes JohnMartin, aka Buffalo Geek, to defend his twin, BuffaloPundit. LOL! Nice.