The New Sweet Digs

Dear Boston Sweet Digs Readers,

As part of changes already announced two weeks ago, Redfin is changing up Sweet Digs to focus the format on proprietary, leading-edge indicators of what is happening to home prices in Boston.

We had initially tried to provide a personal review of individual homes for sale in the area, but as a broker and an MLS member, we were not in an ideal position to be objective about other brokers’ properties. Since Sweet Digs was so local, it was also hard to keep pace with Redfin’s growth across the U.S.

The new format will largely focus on what you asked for, and what Redfin does best: hard data, delivered in a freakishly compelling way:

• Broker-only data on transaction-volume, median-price and inventory trends;
• Broker-only data on sale-to-list ratios by neighborhood;
• Redfin-only price-drop data, showing what neighborhoods have the highest fraction of price-reductions;
• Redfin-only reports on shifting search traffic patterns and price parameters;
• Local agent round-ups about how current-week offer dynamics anticipate pricing shifts;
• Analysis of Case-Schiller, Census and National Association of Realtor data.

It’s good stuff.

We’ve been preparing a change in format for several months, informed by a survey many of you completed earlier this summer, so we have reason to believe that you’ll like the new Sweet Digs.

For now, we just wanted to say thanks to the folks who helped us get Sweet Digs this far, for your dazzling wit and insight, your verve and dedication to your craft. And thanks to our readers for your steady support!

The new, more analytical blog posts start later this week. If there’s a particular type of analysis you’d like to see, just leave a comment to let us know. We’ll definitely be listening.

Regards, Glenn

Glenn Kelman, Redfin CEO