Trulia Neighborhods
Uncover renters' moving decisions and values in a new neighborhood
Overview
Description
This project focuses on the real estate platform, Trulia, and its unique Neighborhoods and What Locals Say features to explore perspective renters' values in relocating to a new community, along with understanding:
Search behaviors and living preferences in viewing rentals
Users' personal and lifestyle needs
Problem
As a property renter, I need to find available residences that offer an authentic, genuine experience of everyday life from people who already live there, so that I am upfront about what I am renting.
Timeline
3 Months
Project Type
Independent School Project
My Role
UX Researcher
Tools
Zoom
Design Process
Click to scroll down to each section
Research
Existing Literature
84%
Nearly 5 in 6 Americans said the neighborhood is equally or more important than the house.
Source:
48%
“Vibe” [lifestyle] or feeling of the neighborhood significantly influenced decision[s], followed by commute time and crime rates.
Source:
77%
No single reliable source for neighborhood information. Only 38% searched for photos of different parts of the neighborhood.
Source:
Heuristic Evaluation
In the discovery phase prior to testing users, I inspected Trulia Neighborhood features against a clear, standardized set of usability best practices with fewer ethical issues.
With concerns that the evaluation only identifies general usability issues that may be marked “issues” that aren’t actual problems, nor consider user opinion in testing, I combined this with user interviews.
Property Listing
1
Consistency and standards
'See local highlights' and 'La Jolla' links are identical, but wording is not communicated the same.
2
Aesthetic and minimalist design
Distance by mileage adds to user knowledge about the neighborhood without interring with usability.
3
User control and freedom
Cancel allows users to reverse and undo viewing a property.
'See All' is clearly labeled and discoverable.
'Share' and 'save' give options to meet users' needs.
See Local Highlights
4
Match system and real world
Images of streets and outdoor environments are more easily relatable to users.
5
Flexibility and efficiency of use
Personalize the experience to find amenities by using tabs by topic or choosing a location within the map.
6
Visibility of system status
Interactive Google map shows amenities with timestamps.
Homes for rent/sale on the market keep users informed.
User Surveys
I distributed an online quantitative survey via Google Forms to screen participants, including:
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Community and neighborhood characteristics
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Behaviors and attitudes surrounding the process of finding and moving to a new neighborhood
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Prior real estate property experience
25-34
Average Age
California
Location reside in
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67%
Seeing a neighborhood for a new property is extremely or very important
50%
Moved to a different state in the same country within the last 5 years
83%
Feeling safe as top neighborhood characteristic in moving decisions
Target Audience
Based on survey results, I recruited participants from two target groups:
Native Apartment Renters
New to renting or never rented
Experienced Apartment Renters
Previous knowledge of rental properties
I interviewed 5 individuals ages 20-65 who reside in California with previous rental experience within the last 5 years, and are familiar with Trulia.
User Interviews
I conducted remote semi-structured user interviews to uncover deeper insights about:
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Meeting lifestyle needs during the search process
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Values and prioritization of neighborhood features
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Opinions, motivations, and frustrations to view neighborhoods overviews
Questions
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How would you describe your prior experience with apartment renting?
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How often have you moved?
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When searching for a place to live, what considerations do you give to a neighborhood?
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What is your experience with using Trulia and the Neighborhoods feature/What Locals Say?
All neighbors introduced themselves and were helpful and protective. If we are home alone for a week, we know someone is watching out for us.
I don’t like that I can’t find or made known about the crime aspect, I’m a nervous wreck. I like knowing what’s happening in the neighborhood.
Framing the Problem
How Might We?
After uncovering insights during research, I challenged my assumptions by rephrasing the problem statement from a renter’s point of view while leaving each question broad enough for solutions and encouraging room for exploration to lead to design opportunities.
01
How might we reassure users that neighborhood photos are reliable and trustworthy?
02
How might we inform users about the security of a prospective community and nearby places?
03
How might we capture the day-in-the-life content of a neighborhood to prevent navigation detours?
04
How might we improve users' ability to locate affordable properties to meet lifestyle flexibility?
Findings
Identify Patterns and Priorities
Affinity Map
Findings from user interviews and surveys were organized as a tangible way to visually categorize insights into more focused, clustered groups based on common themes and patterns among user’s rental experiences and Trulia Neighborhood impressions.
Key Takeaways
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Takeaway 1
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Takeaway 2
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Takeaway 3
Customer Journey Map
I sketched a visual timeline sequencing a narrative of similar thought processes and actions found among participants during the interview to convey a renter’s thoughts, emotions, and pain points to meet their goal of finding available properties in a new, unfamiliar neighborhood.
Bull's Eye Diagram
Gathering participant’s direct experiences interacting with Trulia Neighborhoods overview page during interviews, I designed a targeted diagram that ranks user’s prioritization of features in order of relative importance in learning about a neighborhood and identify areas of improvement.
Primary Features
Map of what's around the area
Availability of places to rent
Secondary Features
Walkability of the area
Tertiary Features
Schools & education
Amenities such as restaurants
Insights
Authentic, immersive experiences like a local to envision new neighborhoods
Speaking with realtors and neighbors gives a genuine, personable feel for a new area.
Viewing apartment layouts in person preferred as online photos were misleading and inaccurate.
Real-time insights from locals about safe neighborhoods before moving
Safety attributes to feeling comforted to walk alone at night with well-lighted streets.
Consulting outside crime using websites and apps were used to find a specific address.
Comprehensive, local amenities near and around neighborhood boundaries
Proximity to essential amenities (grocery stores, workplace distance) influenced moving decisions.
Interactive Google Map with area highlights commonly provides an all-in-one inclusive overview of an area.
Upfront price breakdowns in neighborhood location searches
Affordability was prioritized in shopping around for property listings and values in a neighborhood.
Concern for financial commitments were associated with rising price costs and extra associated fees.
Recommendations
Priority #1
Transparency and Authenticity Gap
Users' preference for in-person visits shows a promotional issue communicating a genuine experience of listings and surrounding areas.
Put residents in front of overviews
Record video or audio recordings of community residents' favorite memory
Figure: Property listing on Trulia
Impact to Key Performance Indicators
Percentage of customers who
interact with neighborhood insights on a property listing vs separate overview webpage
Priority #2
Lack of availability to estimate safe neighborhoods
Crime and safety were significant in moving, and outside sources were overall consulted as part of the rental search.
Learn about safety insights
Consider a searchable feature with real-time alerts to compare neighborhoods
Figure: 'Crime Map' on Trulia
Figure: 'Crime' tab on Trulia listing
Impact to Key Performance Indicators
Percentage of customers who
view photos with outdoor and street classifications
search property listings after reading comments and ratings
Priority #3
Do neighborhood overviews meet most lifestyles?
Research is needed to gauge if listed amenities are representative of a wider demographic.
Personalize local highlights
Receive more accurate distance mileage and time from the workplace with a typeable field
Figure: 'Explore the Area' on La Jolla Neighborhood Overview
Figure: Commute map overlay on Trulia search page
Impact to Key Performance Indicators
Percentage of customers who
filled out a contact property form after engaging with mapped amenities
Priority #4
Pricing not prominent on overview
Financial costs influenced users’ real estate decisions when considering neighborhoods, but the lack of knowing price breakdowns presented challenges.
Restructure pricing front and center
Add a graph for rising home costs in a given area, and link rent ranges for cost breakdowns
Figure: La Jolla Neighborhood Overview
Impact to Key Performance Indicators
Percentage of customers who
clicked rental properties for available listings on Overview page
Reflections
What I Learned
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What I Would Do Differently
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