Trulia Files for $75M IPO

The successful IPO of online real estate rival Zillow bodes well

By Tom Taulli, InvestorPlace Contributor Aug 17, 2012, 11:43 am EDT August 17, 2012

Online real estate site Trulia filed for an IPO today and plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TRLA. The lead underwriters include JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) and Deutsche Bank Securities (NYSE:DB).

Trulia makes it easy for users to search for homes, providing useful information like market values and neighborhood details. The database includes 110 million properties.

As of the end of June, Trulia attracted 22 million monthly unique visitors (MUVs). Yes, the mobile business has also been strong, with 4.3 million MUVs. And if the U.S. housing market is truly on the mend, those numbers could grow as home sales rebound.

Trulia makes money primarily from subscriptions of marketing products for real estate professionals. From 2009 to 2011, revenues went from $10.3 million to $38.5 million. But there was a loss of $6.2 million last year.

Yet there’s a good chance investors will buy into the IPO. Just look at the performance of Trulia’s main rival, Zillow (NASDAQ:Z). The company came public in July 2011 at $20, and the shares are now trading at $35.70.

Subscriber Sign in