Online real estate firm Trulia on Monday said house hunters can now access data on available homes in their areas via mobile phones, and they can also use Dash GPS navigation devices to get driving directions to the homes

The move extends the reach of Trulia's real estate search application beyond the PC and out to location-aware mobile devices at a time when home prices in some parts of the United States are in free fall.

Trulia's search application, which offers data on homes for sale along with related neighborhood information, can be downloaded for free from Apple's App Store and used on the iPhone 3G, the original iPhone, and the iPod Touch.

“This has probably been in the works for some time and it was just a case of getting through Apple's bureaucracy, but being in the App Store gives Trulia a good deal of marketing exposure,” said Greg Sterling, an analyst with Sterling Market Intelligence.

Apple's App Store, which opened in June, is a popular online marketplace for independent developers and software firms to showcase, sell, or distribute their iPhone 3G applications for free.

The popularity of the iPhone and the App Store has generated interest in the lackluster mobile web.

Owners of a long list of other mobile phones including various models of Blackberry, Blackjack, Sony Ericsson, Nokia, Motorola, and Samsung phones can also access Trulia's application via LightPole, a mobile content distribution service.

“At this stage the risk Trulia runs is packing too much into the application and making it too complicated for most people outside of the iPhone crowd,” Mr. Sterling said.

Search results are automatically mapped to the user's location and they can drill down for more detailed information on the target homes, along with a photos of the homes.

“This localizes it down to walking or driving around your neighborhood, but this way you don't have to buy newspapers and drive by the homes...you can just get your phone and go for a walk,” said Ken Shuman, a spokesman for Trulia.

San Francisco-based Trulia, which has taken $33 million in funding, is also offering its search application on Dash Express GPS, a Dash Navigation service. Users can search for available homes in the area and also get driving directions.