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ZILLOW TO BUY TRULIA NOW WHAT?

In this special episode Shane discusses what the buzz is all about and how it may impact the industry both from an inside perspective and a consumer perspective. Below is an article from the LA Times announcing the merger

The nation’s two biggest real estate listing websites announced Monday that they’re joining forces.

Zillow Inc. will buy Trulia for $3.5 billion in stock, the Seattle-based company said. The deal is expected to close in 2015.

 

Zillow Agrees to Aquire Rival Trulia in $3.5B DealBloomberg’s Olviia Sterns reports that Zillow has agreed to purchase rival Trulia in a $3.5 billion stock deal.

While both popular websites will retain their names and separate sites, their merger will create a giant in the burgeoning business of online real estate listings. Zillow and San Francisco-based Trulia combined had 137 million unique visitors in June, the companies said, far more than their next largest competitor, National Assn. of Realtors-affiliated Move Inc.

 

They generate most of their revenue from selling ads to real estate agents, and Zillow Chief Executive Spencer Rascoff said he sees a big chance to grow that business. The companies’ combined revenue amounts to just 4% of the $12 billion spent on real estate advertising annually — much of which remains offline.

“It’s still early days in the world of real estate advertising on mobile and Web,” he said. “This is a tremendous opportunity to combine our resources and achieve even more impressive innovation that will benefit consumers and the real estate industry.”

Analysts also expect the newly combined company to save money on marketing costs — Zillow and Trulia compete fiercely and both spend heavily on advertising — and to gain clout in their negotiations with MLS services and large real estate brokerage firms over listings.

News of talks between the rival companies first broke Thursday. Boards of directors for each company have approved the deal, which will need approval from federal antitrust regulators.