Trulia updates data cycle as accuracy debate reignites

Trulia claims “the most accurate real estate listings”

Realtor.com announced recently that their mobile app has been updated, offering the most accurate real estate listings, updating their system directly from Multiple Listing Services every 15 minutes. On the heels of the statements, Trulia has updated their own data processing framework, enabling continuous data cycle processing and updating for property information displayed on the site.

The company says the new framework ensures high-value listing information including property type, listing address, and basic property details like the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, open house times, and photo updates are refreshed on Trulia “in as little as 10 minutes.”

“It is an obvious advantage to consumers and to our listing brokers to display only the most current information in Internet advertising. Brokers now see their listing changes updated on Trulia in near real-time,” said MRED CEO Russ Bergeron. “These changes help the real estate practitioner throughout our Chicagoland market to more effectively market their properties and ensure consumers receive the most up-to-date information while searching for their new home.”

Trulia investing “significant” resources into data accuracy

“Our new data processing framework is far more efficient and reliable, allowing us to update more feeds and more listings on a continuous basis throughout the day,” said Alon Chaver, VP Industry Services at Trulia. “We’re investing significant engineering and product resources to improve the accuracy and freshness of listings on Trulia as part of our long-term commitment to solving one of the industry’s toughest challenges.”

Chaver adds, “Providing the freshest and most accurate listings to consumers is critical and requires ongoing collaboration with our partner brokers and MLSs. We are committed to continually working together to best serve the needs of buyers and sellers searching for property information and connecting them with agents online.”

Highlighting the top real estate issue du jour: data

Trulia says the data processing upgrades are part of their ongoing efforts to improve accuracy, so we anticipate more announcements will be forthcoming this year.

The timing could be coincidental, but highlights that the biggest real estate search sites are responding to their feet being held to the fire by the real estate industry regarding data accuracy, and it is of particular note that Realtor.com refreshes data every 15 minutes, with Trulia stating they update “in as little as 10 minutes,” which offers them a little more wiggle room than Realtor.com’s statements, but is noteworthy.

While it is definitely a win for everyone for real estate listing data to be accurate, particularly home buyers and sellers, the focus on data processing frameworks reminds us a lot of the eight minute ab people trying to be outdone by the seven minute ab fanatics, and so on and so forth. The races have already begun, so we will be watching as they heat up.