Trulia's Mobile App

I just read an article from Inman News, the real estate news source, about Trulia's changes to their "listings" and their mobile app.

I've blogged about Zillow's inaccurate data several times, and Trulia is not much different.  Trulia scrapes local tax data and posts pre-foreclosure and foreclosure properties as available for sale, when they are not.  Every single day, I respond to questions from confused buyers on the Trulia forum about these types of homes.

Trulia is touting updates and changes to their mobile app in an effort to get buyers to use it and sell advertising on the app to real estate agents.

For buyers, the same inaccurate Trulia "listings" will show up on their mobile app.  I can imagine a buyer pulling up outside a home they found using the Trulia mobile app, calling the featured real estate agent from the app, and asking about a home that isn't for sale.  End result:  a disappointed buyer and an agent who paid for the privilege of damaging their credibility by advertising as the featured agent on Trulia's app.

Buyers should realize that local real estate professionals have their own mobile apps, with available listings from the MLS, or a mobile-optimized site that buyers can use to input an address or a MLS number to get more information from their mobile devices.  Trulia's app is designed solely to sell advertising to real estate agents.

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