The Industry Standard anticipates a Web 2.0 shake out in a recent piece, 10 Net services that will succeed (and 10 that will probably fail). Guess who made the cut?

In their words:

Vetting ‘Net startups is a favorite pastime of Silicon Valley pundits, but at The Industry Standard, we’re taking things a step further, calling out the 10 services that we think are bound to succeed, as well as those that are probably destined for obscurity – or oblivion.

They highlight our innovative business plan and rapid traffic growth as some of our more favorable attributes. Oh stop…we’re blushing.

Check it out for yourself: the slideshow, Trulia’s profile.

Last week was a record breaking week on Trulia Voices. More home buyers, sellers and agents are joining the real estate conversation everyday. Relationships are being formed. Transactions are being closed. Home buyers continue to ask some really great questions and have 6 in this weeks top 10 followed by real estate agents with 3. We even have a renter adding his 2 cents by posing a question/comment.  I’ve highlighted some of the more interesting answers to these questions below. Enjoy.

1. I have made 5 offers on houses, all using comps; all refused. ~ Donna - A home buyer in St. James

Gail Gladstone, a real estate pro from 11743 says, “Homeowners need to decide if they are committed to selling or committed to a number. I only work with homeowners who are committed to selling. I am in Long Island and this IS a buyer’s market.”

2. As I walk my dog every Sunday morning I take the OPEN HOUSE signs and throw them in the bushes. ~ A bitter renter in 90149

Trish Bender, a real estate pro from Cypress asks,” More importantly: ARE YOU PICKING UP AFTER YOUR DOG”

Read the rest of this entry »

The best school value for your housing buck

Spring break is here! Even if you’re not in class anymore, take advantage of the recent Trulia study to find some affordable homes in great school districts. Plus, our analysis shows that living near good schools can help your home maintain its value through the housing market lows.

Using info on over 2 million U.S. homes from Trulia.com and newly launched education data on over 125,000 schools, we found 27 suburbs with great schools at relatively cheap prices just outside nine major cities. Check out three of our favorites here:

Philadelphia

Love cheesesteaks, but worried the kids won’t be able to spell their address? Check out Collegeville, where you can score a pad with awesome schools for about $300K. See other cities here.

Q: Relocating to Philly suburbs, Which neighborhoods have families with young children (baby-ville)… [and] also good public elementary schools?
Asked by Caroline Kesmodel, Buyer & Seller in Philadelphia

A: There are several great suburbs in the Philly area, if you want to be closer to the ocean and don’t mind the commute… see more
Dallas

Deep in the heart of Texas, you can find Allen. This suburb scores 9 out of 10 on the education scale and is less than half an hour from downtown. See other cities here.

Q: [We] need affordable new home with master up in great school district with short commute to downtown? Possible?
Asked by Srp, Home Buyer in Dallas

A: I am a new home specialist, and your best areas for new homes approx 20-30 minutes from downtown will be Mesquite… see more

Boston

With some of the best colleges in the U.S., we know education is important in Beantown. But, finding a place that.s worth the price can be tricky. Check out Swampscott for amazing schools at a reasonable price. See other cities here.

Q: We are currently city dwellers, being forced to move to the ‘burbs b/c of space. We have 3 boys 3yrs and under, and are looking for a great Boston suburb… Where are your favorite towns?
Asked by Lemon, Home Buyer & Seller in Boston

A: I am a new home specialist, and your best areas for new homes approx 20-30 minutes from downtown will be Mesquite… see more

Stay tuned for more house hunting tips! Or sign up for the free newsletter yourself. We’ll love you for it.

This video.

Apparently, some rogue Trulians have a lot of time & Red Bull on their hands between the hours of 1:30 am - 5 am. Last week, we launched the ability to search open houses on Trulia…now it’s all searchable on the iPhone too! Check it out!

It’s been a while since we’ve given you an update on Trulia Voices and we’ve received a lot of questions lately - ‘How many RE Pros are on Trulia’ or ‘How many registered users do you have in Trulia. Well, we’re very happy to share that the community is growing at lightening speed!

Now, each day, more than one thousand new accounts are created and more than one thousand Trulia Voices posts are published - breaking all our previous records!

Some more key stats:

• 70% of Voices users are home buyers/sellers/real estate junkies contributing 85% of Questions. The other 30% are real estate professionals contributing for 85% of answers
• Each question receives an average of 4 responses
• Hottest topics: home buying advice, home selling, market conditions and foreclosures

What does this mean for you, the members of the community? More new and unique content, more home buyers and sellers to connect with, and more great advice from real estate professionals (not to mention a great place to find an agent you trust). Which all mean better decision-making information for Trulia Voices members. Check out these testimonials and see it for yourself.

To current Trulia Voices users, thank you for your continued contributions and feedback. As always, we can’t say how much we value your feedback and patience as we continue to develop more ways to improve your experience. To everyone else, what are you waiting for?

- Your Trulia Voices team Read the rest of this entry »

Weakening economy got you down? Does the slowing job market have you rethinking your career path? This morning CNN Money launched a cool gallery via Fortune Small Business called, “100 Best Places to Live and Launch”, a list of the 100 best cities, including Bellevue, Washington, Georgetown, Texas, Buford, Georgia, Marina del Rey, California and Bethesda, Maryland where entrepreneurs can not only find the best mix of new business and pleasure, but also find a great place to live through integrated maps from Trulia.

Did your city make the list? Check out the feature here.

It’s been another great week on Trulia Voices. Home buyers continue to ask some really great questions and have 6 in this weeks top 10 followed by real estate agents with 2 and home sellers with 2. Real estate agents are engaging these home buyers and home sellers by providing some fantastic answers. I’ve highlighted some of the more interesting answers to these questions below. Enjoy.

1. Why not make the MLS open to the public and charge them access fee? ~ Cameron - A Home Buyer in Chicago

126 Answers and counting…. 

2. How can I find the price a house sold for in the past? ~ Todd - A home buyer from New Jersey

Got recent sales? Jack Sacktig of East Brunswick wasted no time and wrote, “Email me and I can pull the tax record and tell you what it sold for.”

3. How much cash should you have to buy a foreclosed home? ~ Linda - A home buyer from Los Angeles

Cash rules everything around me. Diane Wheatley from Rancho Cucamonga said, “It takes 100% cold hard cash in the form of a cashier’s check if you are to walk away from the sale a new property owner.”

4. Where has the Moderation gone on Trulia!!? ~ Michael J. Kelley - A Real Estate pro from Santa Rosa

On an Easter egg hunt? Elvis states, “I have to agree. I’m appalled a the Zillow-esque quality of the posts I’ve seen on today’s threads.”

5. What is the advantage to list the house with an agent? ~ Sandy - A home buyer in Ridgewood

Results matter. Mike M. from Burlington simply says, “Everything :)” Meanwhile, Marc Paolella of Northern New Jersey, submits one of the longest comments on Voices that I ever seen.

6. Buyers agent - worth it or not? ~ Desidoc - A home buyer in Philly

It helps having someone looking out for your best interests. Lynn 911 Dallas states,“1st place never purchase a new home, new condo, or a pre existing home unless you have a real estate agent representing you.”

7. Moving to Chicago: Advice please! ~ Robert - A home buyer in New York

Asking questions is a great start Robert. Jim Roth from Chicago advises, “Robert, I would start with how well do you know Chicago, just like NYC each neighborhood has is own charm, pluses and minuses.”

8. What can a seller do to better market their home in this poor real estate market? ~ Tina - A home seller from Phoenix

Having a good local Real estate agent on your side is invaluable. Linda Carroll shares her real life example where, “I once sold a house before I listed it, by knocking on the house next door!”

9. How exactly do I sell my home as a short sale? ~ Valerie - Home seller from Michigan

This seems to be a popular question. Lenny Frolov from Minneapolis says,“Every lender is different, some will deal with you before you are delinquent to spare the foreclosure and some will only work with you after you have got behind. Doing a short sale yourself is something I would not suggest.”

10. Why do some Realtors feel it’s necessary to answer questions in finance when they have no clue what they are talking about? ~ Darren Miller - A Real Estate Pro in California

Some questions and answers are universal. Ute Ferdig of the Greater Sacremento Area says, “While I understand what you are saying and I agree we should not answer questions outside our area of expertise, I think it would be alright to tell someone that they need to speak to a mortgage professional as many people are not sure which question to ask of whom. So basically, the answer is just pointing them in the right direction.”

Bonus: A Realtor Public Service Announcement - Real Estate Agent Found Dead in Home She Showed to Client Earlier in Day by Gary De Pury from Tampa

Join the Real Estate Conversation!

Thanks again to everyone for participating in Trulia Voices. If you have a real estate question, our community has answers. See you next week with our new Top 10.

Source: YouTube

When it rains, it pours. Recent heavy rains in Calico Rock, Arkansas caused widespread flooding resulting in many rivers to rise. Unfortunately, the powerful flood waters also raised this house from its foundation. The house boat quickly met it’s match when a bridge decided to get in it’s way. As far as we know, everyone got out of the house safely.

In related news, check out some local real estate information on Trulia about Calico Rock, Arkansas.

Trulia Voices conversations in Arkansas.

Homes for sale in Calico Rock, Arkansas

Real Estate Guide for Calico Rock, Arkansas.

More on the story:

DigTriad.com
Todaysthv.com

Dan from Minnesota is relocating to the Bay Area with 2 kids and needs to know what areas have top-rated school districts so he can refine his home search. Shaila from Rocky Hill has a job offer in Boston and wants to learn more about areas with good public schools within commuting distance of Boston. So where should these home buyers start their search for affordable home prices and top-rated local schools?

Trulia of course! Trulia now has test scores, parent reviews, student-teacher ratios, and more on over 125,000 schools and 14,000 school districts in the U.S. We even have profiles on well-known institutions that you thought were fictitious schools. South Park Elementary School, with a rating of 10, apparently excels when it comes to student academic performance. Who knew? West Springfield Elementary School, previously at an undisclosed location, is now found in Fairfax County PSD in VA. Marge Simpson would be proud – students at this school, on average, scored better than 70% of the students in the rest of the state. Bayside High School? We have that one too in our Palm Bay, FL Real Estate Guide.

Trulia education study launched: Trulia also released a study today that identifies cities in 9 major metro areas with top-rated schools and affordable home prices.

Trulia found that certain areas with high-performing schools in these key markets managed to buck the trend and maintain value, or even increase in value, despite the economic downturn in the real estate market. (Press release here)

Did your city make the list? Check out the results of the study to find our “educational value” cities.

Looking for homes in other areas? Find more school ratings and stats & trends for your target market on our Real Estate Guides. Or go beyond the test scores, like Dan and Shaila, and Ask a Question on Trulia Voices, to get more insight into the local schools and real estate markets. Residents, real estate pros, and other local experts can share their experience and direct you to the right local resources for more information on top schools and districts in your area.

Happy Hunting!

Last September, Alain Pinel Realtors formed an exclusive, online partnership with Trulia. With this agreement, APR ensured that their brand would be highly visible to consumers searching for homes in the San Francisco Bay Area. The relationship includes not only placing all APR listings on Trulia, but also featuring them in the top 3 relevant search results, branding their listings with their logo, and agent banner ads.

So six months later, what are the results? We’re happy to say - awesome! Trulia is succeeding in driving large amounts of quality consumer traffic to APR.com, which APR is converting into more sales. And Web analytics company VisiStat is helping APR keep track of it all. According to VisiStat, data shows that Trulia is single most referring Website to APR.com. To learn more about the Trulia/APR relationship and results, check out the VisiStat case study.