Listing descriptions can only reveal so much about a home — the number of beds and baths, the special features in a kitchen or whether the backyard has enough room to entertain. But listings don’t always tell you about the best restaurants to roam into after a night of fun, if your future neighbors are social butterflies or introverted homebodies, or if there’s a howling beagle next door.
Trulia’s newest feature, “What Locals Say,” is placed at the bottom of listing descriptions and aims to help buyers have a sense of their potential future neighborhood. It asks current residents to fill out polls and questionnaires about what they love (or don’t love) about their area.
Trulia says the launch of “What Locals Say,” falls in line with their new mission: “Build a more neighborly world by helping you discover a place you’ll love to live.”
“More than 10 years ago, Trulia revolutionized the way people found homes by making real estate listings searchable online. Fast forward to 2018, house hunters now expect to see listings on the Internet,” said Trulia senior vice president and general manager Tim Correia in a statement.
“We understand that neighborhoods matter. Our new mission will guide Trulia to deliver even more innovative products to help buyers and renters discover and understand what it’s really like to live in a home and neighborhood before they move in, much like a trusted friend or neighbor.”
Although the feature is currently in beta, users have already submitted 6 million polls and reviews, with an additional 100,000 responses being added each day. Buyers can view “What Locals Say” data by scrolling to the bottom of a specific listing they’re interested in.
The desktop view of “What Locals Say” data.
For example, Seattleites ranked Alki as the most social neighborhood since 58.3 percent of residents have attended a community event, such as a block party or BBQ.
Animal lovers have a plethora of neighborhoods to choose from since 100 percent of Minor, North Beacon Hill, Broadway, East Queen Anne, Mid-Beacon Hill, Alki, South Delridge and Stevens residents reported seeing neighbors walk their dogs or other pets.
In San Francisco, Potrero Hill was ranked as the best neighborhood for ample parking (87.5 percent), and Ashbury Heights is the best place (92.3 percent) for late-night strolls since the sidewalks are brightly lit. Duboce Triangle is best for buyers who want to intimately know their neighbors since 79 percent of respondents said they know their community members on a first-name basis.
To introduce the new feature to its userbase, Trulia created a national ad campaign, “Insiders,” that follows Paperboy Pete and Dog Walker Dana as they “take viewers on a neighborhood tour of the world beyond driveways and mailboxes,” said a press release.
The campaign includes two 15-second and 30-second spots on cable networks and another video made especially for social media and other digital platforms.
“We met with people across the country as part of our research, and one truth rang clear: when people search for a home, they are also searching for a neighborhood that suits their lifestyle,” said Trulia vice president of marketing Alissa Reiter in a statement.
