Trulia Welcomes New Chief Economist

Selma Hepp

Trulia, a San Francisco-based home search resource for buyers and renters, has named Selma Hepp as chief economist.

In her new position with Trulia, Hepp will lead the company's housing economics research team and provide key insights about the economy, housing trends, and public policy to house hunters.

“Finding a home is a messy and overwhelming process that hinges on making tradeoffs among price, space and location. At Trulia, Selma will help people navigate their home search by translating complex economic trends and housing policies into plain English,” said Paul Levine, President of Trulia. “The housing market today is in transition, and with Selma’s expertise as a seasoned housing economist, Trulia is well positioned to provide house hunters with the information they need to make smart real estate decisions.”

Hepp currently collaborates with the University of Southern California's Lusk Center and the REALTOR University Center for Real Estate Studies. She previously served as a senior economist with the California Association of Realtors and as an economist and manager of public policy and homeownership with the National Association of Realtors. She has also worked for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education as a research associate.

“Over the years, I’ve admired the prolific and creative insights that Trulia uncovered about the housing market," Hepp said. "I am thrilled to lead Trulia’s housing economics research team and am excited to build on the great work that has already been done. Under my leadership, Trulia will continue to publish new research that will help house hunters understand which trends really matter.”

Hepp has a master's degree in economics from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning and Design from the University of Maryland.