Tag Archives: Trulia

Recovery in the housing market is stumbling back to solid ground, thanks to a rise in home prices and existing home sales, as well as a drop in foreclosures, according to the latest Housing Barometer report released Wednesday by Trulia. However, growth in these sectors is dragging disproportionally weaker growth in young adult employment and stagnation in the new home construction sector in its wake.

The “boom-and-bust” markets, which led the nation in pre- and post-crisis home price trends, are now at the forefront of a new price trend—a deceleration in home price gains across the nation, according to Trulia. The national real estate company released its Price and Rent Monitors last week, revealing trends in asking prices across the country.

Despite reports of declining home affordability nationwide, Trulia’s latest data shows purchasing a home still remains more affordable than renting in the largest markets—though the scale is close to tipping in a few. Mortgage rates would have to climb to 10.6 percent before ownership costs eclipsed rental costs on a national scale, Trulia says in its Winter 2014 Rent vs. Buy Report. For some markets, however, that number dips as low as 5.0 percent.

In preparation for the launch of its first-ever national marketing campaign, Trulia announced the appointment of Kira Wampler as chief marketing officer (CMO).

As the year kicks off to a mediocre start for housing, two camps have emerged: those who say trends indicate a sour turn for the market, and those who are more apt to dismiss the worst news as an effect of the last few months’ harsh weather. With major reports on construction and sales data on the way, Trulia chief economist Jed Kolko looked at historical patterns to determine—how much has the weather really influenced housing numbers?

What sort of affect has the technology boom had on housing affordability in so-called ""tech hub"" markets? In a recent blog post, Trulia chief economist Jed Kolko argues that a higher price of living isn't a new problem for most tech-centric metros. Instead, he says, these markets are experiencing the lasting effects of having been some of the worst-hit during the bubble's collapse, contributing to their relatively larger price rebounds compared to most the country.

If this year's subfreezing temperatures have you fantasizing about warmer climes, you're not alone: An analysis of Web search traffic on Trulia finds home searches in the country's warmer regions have gone up this winter as the mercury has plunged. The company's statistics (collected from December 1, 2013, through January 21, 2014) show that for every 10-degree drop in temperature, searches on the company's engine increase by 2.6 percent nationally. For warm regions specifically, home searches rise 4.4 percent.

The markets that were worst hit in the housing crisis remain among the top performers in the recovery, according to Trulia.

Trulia, an online marketplace for homebuyers, sellers, and real estate professionals, announced it has forged a partnership with the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO), a nonprofit dedicated to standardizing real estate data in order to promote accuracy and consistency in the industry. In addition to the partnership, Trulia announced that its own VP of industry services, Alon Chaver, will join RESO's board of directors effective January 1.

As prices continue rising in the new year--albeit at a slower pace--investors will begin to ease back from the purchase market, but repeat home buyers will be there to pick up the slack, according to Trulia's predictions. "2013 was the year of the investor, but 2014 will be the year of the repeat home buyer," said Jed Kolko, chief economist at Trulia. Other changes to the market in the new year include lower affordability, "less frenzied" home-buying, and a shift in the rental market from single-family homes to urban apartments.