Meet Zubii, a new platform that helps you find the perfect real estate agent

zubiilogo.jpg

When you’re looking to find a real estate agent to either buy or sell a property, there are lots of places to find them. But for many, that process can be a little strenuous and stressful when tracking down a reliable professional. Which is exactly why the folks at Zubii think they have a perfect solution…. Read More…

Q&A with Trulia CEO Pete Flint: Market Leader is ‘the operating system’ of real estate

Truia CEO Pete Flint

Trulia CEO Pete Flint wants to transform real estate. And with today’s $355 million bid for Kirkland-based Market Leader, the Internet executive took his boldest step yet in making that dream a reality. In acquiring Market Leader in the cash and stock deal, Flint said they are getting one of the most comprehensive lead generation and customer… Read More…

Trulia to buy Market Leader for $355 million, planting stake in Zillow’s backyard

zillow-trulia-11

Trulia is making its biggest bet yet. And it is doing so in Zillow’s backyard. Today, Trulia announced a plan to purchase Kirkland-based Market Leader for $355 million — an 18 percent premium over Market Leader’s stock close on Tuesday. The deal also values Market Leader — originally founded in 1999 as HouseValues.com — at about… Read More…

VC money flows into online real estate after Zillow and Trulia IPOs

vcfunding1111

It’s a strange thing that Seattle seems to be the epicenter of online real estate, home to big companies like Redfin, Zillow and Market Leader as well as up-and-comers like Estately, Findwell, ValueAppeal and Walk Score. I’ve been covering this segment of the Internet economy for a number of years now, and I still can’t… Read More…

‘Industry outsider’ Zillow zooms past $60 per share, now valued at $2 billion

zillow-ipo-photo4

Zillow has been on a hot streak in recent weeks, and now the Seattle online real estate company has surpassed yet another milestone. The company’s stock has surged above $60 per share, valuing Zillow at a whopping $2.1 billion. Some industry watchers thought the company was overvalued when it came public at $20 per share… Read More…

OK, we still don’t really get why Zillow was removed from the Nasdaq Internet Index (and Trulia was added)

[Photo via Julien Gong Min]

I was perplexed earlier this week when NASDAQ OMX Group announced plans to remove Zillow from the NASDAQ Internet Index — noting that the publicly-traded Seattle online real estate company was no longer considered an Internet company. Now, here’s where the story took a bizarre turn. At the same time that Nasdaq dropped Zillow, it added Trulia to the… Read More…

No longer an Internet company? NASDAQ to bump Zillow from Internet Index (and add Trulia)

zillow-trulia-11

Now, this just seems odd. The NASDAQ OMX Group announced today that it plans to remove Zillow as one of the companies in the NASDAQ Internet Index, with a spokesperson for the organization telling the Puget Sound Business Journal that the Seattle online real estate company no longer was eligible because it is a real estate company,… Read More…

Zillow shares top $50 as Trulia looks to add to war chest for acquisitions

zillow-trulia-11

Zillow has been one step ahead Trulia since the early days — beating its longtime rival to market with an automated home valuation service; releasing mobile apps first and, most importantly, with an initial public offering in July 2011. Zillow also was first to raise additional cash in the public markets, raising $147 million in… Read More…

Zillow’s Spencer Rascoff, Trulia’s Pete Flint named most ‘powerful’ young CEOs

Truia CEO Pete Flint

Well, here’s yet another interesting way that the Zillow-Trulia rivalry is playing out — beyond their courtroom battles. Both CEOs of the publicly-traded online real estate companies have been named to the Forbes list of “Most Powerful CEOs 40 and Under.” Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff, 37, was named the 13th most powerful young CEO. Trulia… Read More…

Trulia to Zillow: Your patent is ‘invalid on its face’

zillowtrulianew1

Zillow and Trulia have been at each other’s throats for years now. The two online real estate companies just don’t really like one another. Now, we’re getting a front row seat to the action — in part because of a patent lawsuit that Zillow filed against Trulia last September, a suit that came just a… Read More…

Trulia takes aim at Zillow patent suit: ‘Abstract ideas and principles are not patentable’

zillow-trulia-11

San Francisco online real estate company Trulia has filed its initial response to Zillow’s patent lawsuit, arguing that the case should be dismissed because the business method in question — Zillow’s online home valuation tool known as the Zestimate — is not patentable. The Zestimate utilizes multiple factors in order to assign automated home values… Read More…

Photo sharing for realtors: Abodograph connects real estate agents with customers

abdographfeatured

There are countless photo-sharing apps out there for everything from food to dogs. Now, a former Microsoft and Google engineer is trying to do the same for real estate. It’s called Abodograph, and the idea is to provide an easy way for realtors to post photos of their everyday activities and receive real-time notifications from interested customers. Derek Cheng… Read More…

Cramer vs. Cramer: ‘Mad Money’ host changes his tune on Zillow

cramer-jim1

CNBC talk show host Jim Cramer is known for his loud and outrageous on-screen antics, and earlier this week the “Mad Money” host turned his attention to three real estate companies that recently completed IPOs: Zillow, Trulia and Realogy. Cramer is pretty adamant that investors should avoid Zillow and Trulia, instead taking a closer look… Read More…

Inside look at Realogy IPO shows strong alliances with Zillow and Trulia

realogy1

The initial public offerings of online real estate upstarts Trulia and Zillow may have grabbed headlines in the past two years. But another big player in real estate just went public last Thursday, performing well in its debut. New Jersey-based Realogy Holdings, the owner of Coldwell Banker and Century 21, now boasts a market value of… Read More…

Redfin study: Trulia and Zillow lack listings and show out-of-date information

redfinstudy-22

Redfin has been lurking in the shadows for the past several months as online real estate companies like Trulia and Zillow grab headlines with their stock moves, lawsuits and expansion plans. But Seattle-based Redfin today is dropping a bomb shell on the industry, commissioning a study by the WAV Group which essentially says that the… Read More…

Shares of Zillow sink after analyst says prospects stink

Rascoff

Shares of Zillow are taking a beating today after a financial research firm questioned the Seattle online retailer’s business prospects. Citron Research said in its report that the ”willowy story Zillow has been telling Wall Street is completely inconsistent with company’s underlying business metrics.” Zillow’s stock is down more than five percent, though it is still… Read More…

Trulia CEO Pete Flint on the IPO, competing with Zillow

Truia CEO Pete Flint

Trulia certainly didn’t disappoint in its Wall Street debut. The San Francisco online real estate company raised $102 million; soared more than 40 percent to $24; and finished the day with a market value of more than $600 million. (Shares are off slightly this morning). In a blog post Thursday, Trulia CEO Pete Flint called the… Read More…

As Trulia’s IPO pops, Zillow closes offering at $156M

zillowtrulianew1

The fascinating back-and-forth between Zillow and Trulia continues. After pricing its initial public offering last night at $17, Trulia shares are taking off in early morning trading, opening at $22 per share and trading now at more than $24. That’s a very healthy 40+ percent increase over the offering price. The IPO, as we reported… Read More…

Here comes Trulia: Online real estate company prices IPO above range at $17

zillowtrulianew1

The online real estate battle between San Francisco’s Trulia and Seattle’s Zillow is about to get a lot more interesting. Trulia today priced its initial public offering at $17 per share, above the anticipated range of $14 to $16 per share, according to PrivCo. The deal will raise about $102 million for Trulia, with a… Read More…