[Sweepstakes] Like us on Facebook. Love us on your iPad!

To appreciate our brand new iPad app, you’ll need, well, an iPad!
Don’t have one?

“Like” us on Trulia and enter our sweepstakes for a chance to win!

HOW TO ENTER

• Step 1: Visit Trulia’s Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/trulia
• Step 2: Click on the Sweepstakes application tab
• Step 3: Complete the online entry form with all required information
  

SWEEPSTAKES DETAILS

Prize Details
Two lucky winners will be selected to win a brand new iPad 2

Prize Eligibility
Only persons who are at least 18 years of age can enter

Sweepstakes Starts
March 31, 2011 @ 10:00 am (PDT)

Sweepstakes Ends
April 21, 2011 @ 10:00 am (PDT)

OFFICIAL RULES

Trulia’s MOBILE APPLICATION LAUNCH SWEEPSTAKES

OFFICIAL RULES

Important: Please read these Official Rules before entering this promotion (the “Promotion”). By participating in the Promotion, you agree to be bound by these Official Rules and represent that you satisfy all of the eligibility requirements below.

NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THIS PROMOTION.

1. Eligibility. PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE ODDS OF WINNING. PROMOTION VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. PROMOTION OPEN ONLY TO RESIDENTS OF THE FIFTY (50) UNITED STATES AND DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA WHO ARE AT LEAST 18 YEARS OF AGE (OR THE AGE OF MAJORITY UNDER APPLICABLE LAW). IF YOU DO NOT MEET ANY OF THESE REQUIREMENTS, OR ANY OTHER ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS IN THESE OFFICIAL RULES, YOU ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO WIN A PRIZE, AND TRULIA, INC. (“SPONSOR”) RESERVES THE RIGHT NOT TO AWARD PRIZES TO YOU. To be eligible to win a prize, entries must be completed and received by Sponsor in the manner and format designated below. Directors, officers and employees of Sponsor and any of their respective parent companies, affiliate companies, subsidiaries, agents, professional advisors, advertising and promotional agencies, and immediate families of each are not eligible to win any prizes. All applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations apply.
2. Disclaimer. Sponsor, Facebook, Inc., all participating sponsors and any of their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, professional advisors, employees and agencies (collectively, the “Released Parties”) will not be responsible for: (a) any late, lost, misrouted, garbled or distorted or damaged transmissions or entries; (b) telephone, electronic, hardware, software, network, Internet, or other computer- or communications-related malfunctions or failures; (c) any Promotion disruptions, injuries, losses or damages caused by events beyond the control of Sponsor or by non-authorized human intervention; or (d) any printing or typographical errors in any materials associated with the Promotion.
3. Promotion Period: The Promotion period is from 12:01 a.m. (all times Pacific Time) on March 31, 2011 to 11:59 p.m. on April 21, 2011 (the “Promotion Period”). All entries must be received during the Promotion Period (except as otherwise expressly permitted under Section 7 below for mail-in entries) and meet the other requirements in these Official Rules to be eligible to potentially win a prize.
4. Prizes: Two (2) winners will receive a 16GB Apple iPad 2. Approximate retail value (“APR”) of each prize: $499. Total APR of all prizes combined: $998.
5. Odds; Taxes; Etc. Odds of winning a prize depend on the number of eligible entries received. ALL FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL TAXES ASSOCIATED WITH THE RECEIPT OR USE OF ANY PRIZES ARE THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WINNER. The prize will be awarded. The prize may, in Sponsor’s sole discretion, be forfeited and awarded to an alternate winner if the prize is returned as undeliverable or otherwise not claimed within seven (7) days after delivery of notification, or, alternatively, if three (3) attempts to contact winner by e-mail with the prize notification are not successful. Prizes are not transferable. No substitutions or exchanges (including for cash) of any prizes will be permitted, except that Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value for any prize. Limit one winner per household or address. All prizes are awarded “AS IS” and WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, express or implied (including, without limitation, any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose).
6. Identity of Entrant. In the event of a dispute about the identity of the entrant, entries made online will be declared made by the authorized account holder of the e-mail address submitted at time of entry. An authorized account holder is defined as the natural person who is assigned to an e-mail address by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization (e.g., business, educational institution, etc.) that is responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address. The potential winner may be required to provide Sponsor with proof that the potential winner is the authorized account holder of the e-mail address associated with the winning entry.
7. How to Enter:

   Online Entry:To enter online, take the following steps during the Promotion Period:

   · Step 1: Visit Trulia’s Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/trulia;

   · Step 2: Click on the Contest application tab;

   · Step 3: “Like” Sponsor’s fan page on Facebook (if you have not previously done so); and

   · Step 4: Complete the online entry form with all required information, including your name, e-mail address, and month and year of your date of birth.

   If any entrant is found to have used multiple or different Facebook accounts, or other applicable accounts to enter the Promotion, such entrant will be disqualified.

   To Obtain Additional Online Entries. To obtain up to six (6) additional online entries, recommend to a friend or family member that he or she enter the Promotion and indicate on his/her entry form that you recommended that he/she enter. (When participating in this recommendation process, you must inform your friend and family member that you are contacting him/her so you can potentially earn an additional entry in the Promotion.) Entrants will receive one entry for each friend or family member (up to a maximum of six (6) additional entries, i.e., seven (7) total entries) who enters the Promotion during the Promotion Period with valid contact information and who indicates on his/her entry form that you recommended that he/she enter. Nevertheless, each entrant will only receive one entry per household or mailing address no matter how many friends or family members residing at the household or mailing address register (e.g., if entrant refers two adult siblings living in the same household, then entrant will receive only one entry even if both siblings register).

   Offline Entry Method: To enter for a chance to win and acquire seven (7) entries without taking the above-referenced steps, clearly hand-print your full name, mailing address, and e-mail address on a 3″x5″ card, and mail that card in a hand-addressed envelope to Trulia, Inc., Attn: “Mobile Application Launch” Sweepstakes Entry, 116 New Montgomery Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, CA 94105. Mailed entries must be postmarked by the last day of the Promotion Period and received no later than seven (7) days after that date to be eligible to win.

   For All Entry Methods: Limit seven (7) entries per person. All requested information must be provided for your entry to be valid. All entries must be in English. Entries become the exclusive property of Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned. All entrants and entries are subject to verification by Sponsor. By entering the Promotion, you consent to being placed on a mailing list for promotional and other purposes.

8. Promotion Rules: The prize winner will be determined by a random drawing from all eligible entries to be held at the corporate offices of Sponsor on or about April 29, 2011. The potential winner will be notified by e-mail by May 2, 2011. To claim the prize, the potential winner must follow the instructions contained in his/her notification, including by taking any winner verification steps required by Sponsor.
9. No Facebook Endorsement. This Promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook, Inc. You understand that by using and interacting with www.facebook.com, you are subject to the terms, conditions, and policies that govern the use of www.facebook.com. You should therefore review the applicable terms and policies for www.facebook.com, including privacy and data gathering practices, before using or interacting with Facebook.
10. General Release. By entering the Promotion, you release Sponsor and all Released Parties from any liability whatsoever, and waive any and all causes of action, related to any claims, costs, injuries, losses, or damages of any kind arising out of or in connection with the Promotion or delivery, misdelivery, acceptance, possession, use of or inability to use any prize (including, without limitation, claims, costs, injuries, losses and damages related to personal injuries, death, damage to or destruction of property, rights of publicity or privacy, defamation or portrayal in a false light, whether intentional or unintentional), whether under a theory of contract, tort (including negligence), warranty or other theory.
11. Selection of Prize. Actual model, color, accessories and features of the prize awarded will be selected by Sponsor in its sole discretion and may vary from photos used in Sponsor and third-party advertising and promotional materials, including without limitation on the Sponsor web site.
12. Use of Winner’s Name, Likeness, etc. Except where prohibited by law, entry into the Promotion constitutes permission to use each winner’s name, Facebook name, hometown, likeness and/or prize information, without limitation, in connection with the Promotion and for any other advertising, marketing, or promotional purpose(s) without further permission or compensation. As a condition of being awarded any prize, except where prohibited by law, each winner may (in Sponsor’s sole discretion) be required to execute a consent to the use of such winner’s name, Facebook name, hometown, likeness and/or prize information, without limitation, in connection with the Promotion and for any other advertising, marketing, or promotional purpose(s) without further permission or compensation.
13. Affidavit & Release. As a condition of being awarded any prize, each winner may (in Sponsor’s sole discretion) be required to execute and deliver to Sponsor a signed affidavit of eligibility and acceptance of these Official Rules and release of liability, and any other legal, regulatory, or tax-related documents required by Sponsor in its sole discretion.
14. Winner List; Rules Request. For a copy of the winner list, send a stamped, self-addressed, business-size envelope after May 16, 2011 and before May 16, 2012 to Sponsor at the address listed below, Attn: “Mobile Application Launch” Sweepstakes Winner List. To obtain a copy of these rules, visit http://www.truliablog.com/2011/03/30/sweepstakes-li…s-on-your-ipadsweepstakes-like-us-on-facebook-love-us-on-your-ipad/ or send a stamped, self-addressed business-size envelope to Sponsor at the address listed below, Attn: “Mobile Application Launch” Sweepstakes Rules Request. Residents of VT may omit return postage.
15. Intellectual Property Notice. TRULIA is a trademark of Trulia, Inc. The Promotion and all accompanying materials are copyright © 2011 by Trulia, Inc.
16. Miscellaneous. The Promotion and these Official Rules will be governed, construed and interpreted under the laws of the state of California, U.S.A. Entrants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and by the decisions of Sponsor, which are final and binding in all respects. Sponsor reserves the right to change these Official Rules at any time, in its sole discretion, and to suspend or cancel the Promotion or any entrant’s participation in the Promotion should viruses, bugs, unauthorized human intervention or other causes beyond Sponsor’s control affect the administration, security or proper play of the Promotion, or Sponsor otherwise becomes (as determined in its sole discretion) incapable of running the Promotion as planned. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Sponsor reserves the right to amend, modify, or cancel the Promotion at any time without notice. Entrants who violate these Official Rules, violate any law, rule or regulation in connection with participation in the Promotion, tamper with the operation of the Promotion or engage in any conduct that is detrimental or unfair to Sponsor, the Promotion or any other entrant (in each case as determined in Sponsor’s sole discretion) are subject to disqualification from entry in the Promotion. Sponsor reserves the right to lock out persons whose eligibility is in question or who have been disqualified or are otherwise ineligible to enter the Promotion. Any provision of these Official Rules deemed unenforceable will be enforced to the extent permissible, and the remainder of these Official Rules will remain in effect. If you have any questions about these Official Rules or the Promotion, please send written questions to the address listed below, Attn: “Mobile Application Launch” Sweepstakes Questions.
17. Sponsor: Trulia, Inc., 116 New Montgomery Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, CA 94105.

Trulia Launches iPad and Android Apps

Hot off the presses – Trulia now has mobile apps for iPads and Android phones!  Now your house hunting is even more mobile and you can find local homes for sale and rent to get your real estate fix.

Trulia’s iPad App:

OK, this is really cool.  In addition to finding homes for sale and rent using your GPS, you can see great data about your local area right on the map by turning on our “Layers”.

Key Features of the Trulia iPad App:

• For sale and rental properties with full descriptions and big color photos
• Super easy-to-use full screen interactive map
• Search for your nearby location or any specific city or zip code
• Home price “heat maps” for local pricing trends
• Neighborhood, zip code and county borders
• Local schools, restaurants, grocery stores, banks and more

Trulia’s Android App:

We’ve been hearing from you Android lovers about how badly you want a Trulia Real Estate App and we delivered!  Get all the great stuff you expect from Trulia while you’re on the go.

Key Features of the Trulia Android App:

• For sale and rental properties, big color photos and lots of details
• Search nearby with GPS or enter a specific location
• Save your favorite properties and searches with your Trulia account
• Find open houses near you and add them to your phone’s calendar
• Voice based-search – just say the city, # of beds and baths, and more
• Use QR codes with a built-in scanner access

And, don’t forget, you can also use Trulia on our iPhone App and mobile website.  We love you too!

Thanks for all your great comments, suggestions and support for our mobile products, we really appreciate it. You can send us your thoughts anytime at ‘iphone at trulia dot com’, ‘ipad at trulia dot com’ and ‘android at trulia dot com’.

Announcing Ginger Wilcox- Head of Trulia Training

I am thrilled to announce that I have joined the Trulia team as Head of Trulia Training. As part of Trulia’s goal to become the #1 marketing partner for the real estate industry, I will be developing educational programs to assist real estate agents in growing their business.  In addition to helping agents take advantage of Trulia’s tools and technology, I will be focused on helping them sort through all of the new emerging technologies to maximize their online presence.

Trulia’s company mission is to “revolutionize the real estate experience by empowering people”.  With that goal in mind, I will expand Trulia’s efforts to educate and empower agents to use technology to generate more customers, convert leads in to transactions, and increase productivity.

Why did I join Trulia?

I am a third generation real estate professional – real estate is in my blood. Over the years, I have worked in real estate and in the high tech industry. I am thrilled to be able to join an organization that combines my two loves – real estate and technology – while also sharing my passion for making real estate agents successful in their businesses.

I have had the opportunity to get to know and work with many of the Trulia team members over the last four years including Pete Flint, Rudy Bacharaty, Heather Fernandez, Ken Shuman and many more. I have always been impressed with Trulia’s commitment to innovation in our industry, but what I didn’t truly understand was its absolute passion to serving all of its customers – home buyers/sellers and the brokers/agents who represent those consumers. Trulia’s commitment to real estate professionals is evident in their desire to create an agent education program specifically designed to help real estate professionals succeed in their businesses.

Over the coming weeks, I will be seeking out input from our current and prospective customers on how we can better serve you through new educational programs. I look forward to working with you to continue to make Trulia your technology partner.

Trulia’s Q1 2011 Mind Body Spirit Day

It might be dreary and wet outside, but Trulians are rockin’ away today with our quarterly Mind Body Spirit Day. And it only gets better each quarter as our talented and adventurous crew seeks to add new events to rejoice our spirits and embrace our bodies.

Our list of activities today include:

1. Golf [weather-permitting]

2. Surfing [weather-permitting]

3. Getting Fit at Your Desk (Yea! That’s right, we got people coming in to teach us some fresh stretches and good habits)

4. Swing Dancing (cuz we love it)

5. Indoor Rock Climbing

6. Private Boot Camp @ Crunch (cuz we’re special like that)

7. Bike Ride [weather-permitting]

8. Yoga (get your OM! on)

9. Ping Pong Tourney (for beginners & intermediates)

10. Toast to Good Health! (aka Mind Body Spirits and/or re-tox)

Trulia Announces Partnership To Bring RE/MAX Listings to Fastest Growing Online Real Estate Audience

Last week at the RE/MAX R4 conference in Las Vegas we announced a new partnership with RE/MAX that directly syndicates their listings into Trulia’s search index.  This is exciting news for both the millions searching homes for sale on Truila and the thousands of RE/MAX agents across the country.

As part of the agreement, RE/MAX agents and brokers receive partner benefits on Trulia’s hyper-local marketing and advertising solutions, Trulia Pro and Trulia Local Ads.  These services provide RE/MAX agents access to the highest concentration of new buyers available online (comScore Jan 2011).

During R4 conference, Trulia’s Director of Business Development, Mark Weiss, spoke on a panel highlighting the benefits on the new syndication agreement.   Bruce Ailion, one of the many RE/MAX agents using Trulia’s marketing solutions, was in the audience and spoke about his experience:

“ I have been in the business for 31 years, and in my first week with Trulia I received a contact from a highly qualified buyer that I believe will develop into the most significant lead received in those 31 years. This lead has the potential to generate well over $100,000 in business over the next two years. ”

We’re happy to be part of the RE/MAX family and look forward to helping many more RE/MAX agents, just like Bruce.  You can learn more about the agreement by reading our official press release.

[Contest] Congrats to our “My American Dream” Facebook Contest Winner!

Throughout the month of February, we asked folks to share their American Dream with us on Facebook for a chance to win a $250 Crate and Barrel gift card. More than a hundred of you responded and we very touched by your stories. Congrats to those of you who’ve already achieved your American Dreams and best wishes to those of you are are still working to achieve your goals.

Last week, we tallied up the votes and named Jessica K. as our winner with 296 votes for her entry:

“My American Dream is to be happy; a nice home with land for my children to explore. I would like to stay at home and raise my children. I can see my husband and I sitting on our front porch, watching our children catch fireflies and knowing they are happy.”

Congrats and a special thanks to everyone who entered the contest!

[Contest] Congrats to our 3rd “My American Dream” Twitter Contest Winner!

During the 3rd and final week of our “My American Dream” Twitter contest, @LizRevillaS won a $50 Crate and Barrel gift card from Trulia for her entry:

#myamericandream-healthy kids&hubby, enough $ to take yearly vacation, a nice home w/Large kitchen to enjoy friends, family, wine & Food

Congrats and thank you to everyone who participated! We loved hearing about your American Dreams and hope you all achieve them! Next week, we’ll be announcing the grand prize winner of our “My American Dream” Facebook contest, so stay tuned.

Trulia Launches Trulia Direct Reference!

One of the most common complaints we hear from consumers about searching for homes online is that many online property listings have the wrong price or status.  Today we are excited to announce Trulia Direct Reference, a quality assurance system which allows local Multiple Listing Services (MLS) and agents to find out and correct inaccurate data within their markets to ultimately enable the best possible consumer experience for everyone’s benefit.  We have been testing Trulia Direct Reference for a while with some of the country’s leading MLSes and after some very promising results, are ready to open it up for the larger MLS community.

Trulia has been recognized as the #1 quality lead provider two years in a row according to an independent study conducted by ListHub. Trulia Direct Reference adds another layer of quality for online consumers through higher accuracy listing data on Trulia and on the industry as a whole. This was a concept born out of our innovative MLS Advisory Board, which is made up of several of the most influential MLS CEOs in the industry.

How does Trulia Direct Reference work?

Regardless of whether an MLS is syndicating for sale listing data to Trulia, the MLS provides a reference file that shows the status, price and other details on all properties listed in its area.  Trulia then tries to match this data against the listings data syndicated from various sources, including real estate agents, brokers, franchisors and other third party syndicators. We then compare elements, such as price, agent, brokerage and current status.  If there are discrepancies as compared to the MLS system of record, we’ll notify the agent and/or the MLS of the errant data sources to help clean up the data that is out there.  We will also present the correct data from the MLS on Trulia.com.

How will this help the Industry?

As a real estate industry leader, Trulia believes this is a positive and necessary action to boost data integrity across the internet for agents and consumers.  We will all benefit from this, and many of the country’s most respected MLSs – including Chicago’s MRED, Ohio’s NORMLS and many others – are already using Trulia Direct in their respective markets.

How does my MLS join and what does it cost?

Trulia Direct Reference is 100% free of charge to participating MLSs, who can join on a first come first serve basis.  To learn more about joining please contact mark (at) Trulia (dot)com or give me a call.

February 2011’s Top 10 Movers n’ Shakers

In a year-over-year comparison of the most popular cities being searched for on Trulia.com, we continued to see fierce interest throughout February in hard-hit foreclosure states like Arizona and Florida. In fact, five of our 10 most popularly-searched cities were in beach-front locations along the Florida coastline. Palm Bay was at the top of the list with a 93% increase, which was followed by Pompano Beach (64% jump), Palm Cost (60% jump), Naples (46%) and Venice (44%). On the other hand, two cities from Arizona that saw a spike in interest as well – Maricopa with a 92% rise and Mesa with a 54% rise.

Now, looking at the list of cities where real estate interest took a bit of a downturn, most were either suburbs within major U.S. metro areas or major cities themselves. A third of the cities were suburbs of New York City, including Queens (which leads the list with a 68% dip in real estate interest), Jersey City (37% dip) and Staten Island (32% dip). The big cities that made this list were Washington D.C., Austin and San Francisco. It’ll be interesting to see if this trend continues in the coming months. Stay tuned!

Feel free to check out the methodology below.

Methodology:

Trulia determines the most popular cities for real estate searches on Trulia.com by comparing the year-over-year percentage change in the number of city property views per total property views on the whole site from February 2010 to February 2011. Only the 200 most searched-for cities in February 2011 were included in this analysis.

Sample calculation:

City: Emerald City, OZ

February 2010:

• Emerald City property views: 100
• Total property views on Trulia.com: 5,000
• Emerald City’s percentage of property views on Trulia.com: 100/ 5,000 = 2%
  

February 2011:

• Emerald City property views: 2,000
• Total property views on Trulia.com: 20,000
• Emerald City’s percentage of property views on Trulia.com: 2000/ 40,000 = 5%

Percentage change in property views: (5%-2%)/2% = 150%

More Than 200,000 Agents Use Trulia Each Month to Manage Listings and Leads

Today we announced the results from an internal Omniture report that revealed more than 200,000 active real estate agents in the U.S. are using Trulia each month to manage their listings and leads. That’s an amazing 300% increase since last year!

“Trulia is quickly becoming the go-to place for real estate professionals to manage their business, whether that involves generating leads, educating themselves on the latest real estate market trends, or advertising their listings to an active and qualified homebuyer audience,” said Pete Flint, CEO of Trulia. “Through our rapid growth in consumer audience, real estate professionals have discovered that Trulia is the best place to meet new clients and build lifelong client relationships.”

The top three destinations for agents using site in February of 2011 were My Listings, My Leads and Trulia Voices.

Agents Use Trulia To Manage Leads

My Leads was launched in September of 2010 to allow agents to manage their leads effectively on Trulia and respond to consumer inquiries directly through Trulia. Trulia saw 128 percent growth in leads sent to real estate professionals in 2010 and thousands of professionals use My Leads daily to respond to consumer inquires. Agents also have access to a history of their leads though My Leads and no longer have worry about losing a lead again.

Agents Use Trulia to Manage Your Listings

In the past year, Trulia has released several features that make listing management and marketing as convenient as possible for agents. On Trulia’s My Listings page, real estate professionals can now extend their reach beyond Trulia’s 11 million unique monthly.

“I discovered recently that I can submit open house times to Facebook directly from Trulia to notify my entire Facebook network that I’m holding an open house this weekend,” said Janet Thompson, an agent in Boulder, Colorado. “When I entered a new listing recently, I didn’t have the photos available to upload. However, when I logged back in to upload the photos, they were already there! I need to show my assistant how to use Trulia, but it’s too much fun for me to manage on my own. This week I set up weekly client listing reports for all of my sellers. Trulia makes me look even better.”

Agents Use Trulia to Interact with Active Buyers and Sellers

Agents on Trulia have experienced great success from tapping into more than 11 million active homebuyers by interacting with them on Trulia Voices, featuring listings through Trulia Pro, and promoting themselves and their business with Trulia Local Ads.

“Trulia has become so much a part of my day that it is hard to imagine life without it. Participating on Trulia Voices keeps me on my toes and by getting a daily dose of what’s on consumers’ minds, I’m better informed and equipped to impart relevant knowledge to clients I serve,” said Jeanne Feenick, an agent in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. “The time I spend on Trulia Voices has definitely reaped rewards. I would say that the majority of buyers that have found me on Trulia are first-time buyers, hungry for knowledge and very appreciative of the support and guidance of a great agent. I love working with these buyers!”