Consumers hunting for houses via phone
Trulia recently launched their Android app and decided to take the data in the weeks following, visualize it and study how quickly Android was catching on.
San Francisco based Trulia notes that “Android phones are much more popular in the Heartland states given that it has a lower price point and is much more accessible.” Given the $99 iPhone special at WalMart (yes, they have those in the “Heartland”), the regional rise of Androids likely has less to do with price point. Comparatively speaking, as card carrying members of the “Heartland” region, our two HTC Android EVOs cost nearly $1,000.
If you think 15% of Trulia’s traffic comes from mobile on weekdays with an extra 5% thrown in on weekends, you would be right. If you think that overall, iPhone use is considerably higher than Android use when using Trulia mobile, you would be right again. But then again, the Android app is barely a month old, so any use is fairly impressive.
If you think that most of Trulia’s unique visitors using smartphones to search for homes come out of San Francisco, you would be wrong. Trulia explains the San Francisco-less phenomenon, “let’s just say, being tech-savvy doesn’t mean you’re in the market for a new home.” And vice versa.
Android v iPhone use of Trulia
Click the image to visit the interactive map to see smartphone use in your area. It could also give you an idea of the rapid or slow adoption levels of Android versus iPhone in your city (hint: where should you be focusing your brokerage’s investments in technology?). We most look forward to seeing how this interactive chart shifts over time and are glad Trulia is now serving Android, iPhone and iPad.
Joe Manausa
May 17, 2011 at 11:34 am
Lani, this is very interesting. I'll be curious to see if it is more than just a passing trend. Of course, it could be the modern version of the "nosy neighbor" though I have used the realtor.com app when driving by a home recently.