There were two significant events related to the housing market yesterday.
The first was Zillow Inc., the biggest U.S. real-estate website, saying it was interested in buying its main rival, Trulia Inc. I don’t know if a combination will lead to a significantly better mousetrap for homebuyers and sellers, though investors certainly liked the idea based on the share prices of both company. For the companies, joining forces makes sense: Zillow gains market share and benefits from Trulia technology, such as its data-visualization tools. But I expect consumers will continue to do what they do — search online and then contact an agent.
