Buyers and Sellers Turn To Brokers in Troubled Market

Mr. Czepiel is among a class of worried buyers and sellers who have turned during an uncertain period not to economists but to their brokers. Throughout the industry, brokers have created files of articles that talk up New York City's "bulletproof" or "insulated" real estate economy; they also have begun posting on their professional Web sites information to diffuse the panic brought on by ominous headlines. "The blog is my way of providing clients with real-time information," Mr. Czepiel's broker and the principal of A Fine Company, Andrew Fine, said. Fifteen minutes after the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates last week, Mr. Fine put a post up describing how the move was good for the city's real estate economy, he sa