Curbed.com, the spicy real estate blog serving up rich tidbits of new developments, sold-out penthouses, celebrity real estate, Eichler porn, and other Gen-X and -Y delectables, just raised $1.5M in funding. (Source: the New York Times and WebProNews.com)
That’s right, folks, a blog — something unheard of in real estate a scant 18 months ago — has just raised $1.5M to expand its operations, and this despite the general nation-wide slowdown in the real estate market. Real estate blogging, my friends, is growing up. It’s not a passing fad, or a way for bored agents to spend time online. It’s becoming serious business.
Curbed’s business model is advertising driven, and while you wouldn’t be surprised to see companies like Trulia advertising there, the site has managed to attract a broader array of advertisers, including financial services and cars.
Want to predict the future of real estate blogging? Quite simple: read up on what’s happening in blogging in the technology and political worlds, both of which got in on blogging a few years earlier. Blogs like Robert Scoble’s and Michael Arrington’s (on the technology side) and Arriana Huffington’s (on the political side) have 8-digit valuations.
Congratulations Mssrs. Steele et. al!
[Update: I have not been able to find out what percentage of Curbed.com Mr. Steele had to part with to get the $1.5M in funding, leading to the obvious question: What is the current valuation of Curbed.com? Speculation here suggests somewhere in the range of $6M to $12M.]
Tags: Curbed.com, Industry, Trulia
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3 responses so far ↓
1 Curbed.com = HomeGain Redux; Is History Repeating Itself? Will Curbed.com Start Selling Leads? // Nov 6, 2007 at 9:47 pm
[...] the news only made a blip on the real estate blog radar screen, Curbed.com’s recent $1.5M round of funding has profound implications for the real estate business. First, it signifies that blogging is [...]
2 Curbed.com = HomeGain Redux; Is History Repeating Itself? Will Curbed.com Start Selling Leads? : Domus Test Test Test // Jul 19, 2008 at 8:52 am
[...] the news only made a blip on the real estate blog radar screen, Curbed.com’s recent $1.5M round of funding has profound implications for the real estate business. First, it signifies that blogging is rapidly [...]
3 Curbed.com = HomeGain Redux; Is History Repeating Itself? Will Curbed.com Start Selling Leads? : 3 Oceans Test Test Test // Jul 19, 2008 at 2:36 pm
[...] the news only made a blip on the real estate blog radar screen, Curbed.com’s recent $1.5M round of funding has profound implications for the real estate business. First, it signifies that blogging is rapidly [...]
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