Trulia: Bucking the layoff trend

Real-estate sites had some tough times last week. First, Redfin, an online brokerage for residential real estate, announced that it was laying off 20 percent of its staff, then Zillow, a service that delivers home values and lists sales, announced that it was forced to lay off 25 percent of its workforce.

But Trulia, which lets buyers find homes for sale across the United States, says it has no layoff plans and that it has enjoyed so much growth, it's actually looking to expand.

"We are not making any layoffs. All companies need to be smart in this environment and adjust to the market movements," Pete Flint, CEO and co-founder of Trulia, said in an interview. "As a company, we are in a strong position. We always believed that we had to be aggressive but fiscally responsible, and that is why we are in the position we are (in) today. In fact, we are still making a few select hires, where they are important to our revenue growth."

Trulia has been one of the most proactive companies in the online real-estate market since its inception. The company formed a strategic partnership with Dash GPS to let Dash users find homes that are for sale in their area by connecting to the Trulia database, and its advertising network has proven to be a key component in creating a sound financial structure.

Regardless, Trulia is operating in an extremely competitive market. With competitors such as Zillow, Redfin, and DotHomes, it won't be easy for the company to stay ahead of a significant economic downturn, now that its competitors have significantly reduced expenses. But with strong growth and solid performance, Trulia believes that it can adapt to any financial issue that may arise.

[bradthebuilder]

Trulia is quite resourceful, and should weather the storm fairly well. What they don't have, however, is a marketing machine the likes of which upstart FrontDoor.com has. (FrontDoor is owned/operated by Home and Garden Television) They've been pretty darn quiet so far, but from what I hear, they've made big gains in traffic lately and I wonder what tricks they have up their sleeve for when the beta period ends? If they can really get their TV promotional juice flowing into the site, everyone else will have some major work to do.

[candislynn]

That's encouraging news, all things considered. I believe Trulia's active involvement in social networking and on social media sites have contributed to their ability to "buck the layoff trend" by nurturing positive client relationships and viral word of mouth advertising. Good for them.

[georgepropgo]

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