FORT WORTH, TX—In light of Monday's news regarding Zillow Inc. acquiring Trulia Inc. for $3.5 billion in a stock-for-stock transaction, GlobeSt.com chatted with Fort Worth,TX-based broker/owner Mary Carolyn Gatzke of Bloom Real Estate Group her perspective on the merger, and how it will affect the industry.

GlobeSt.com: What does this merger mean for consumers?

Mary Carolyn Gatzke: With the Zillow/Trulia merger, the number one and number two most trafficked real estate sites in the world are combining to share resources and offer better tools for consumers to have more access to information for their home search and sale process. The merger leaves one clear leader in the online residential real estate space. Zillow and Trulia were at the forefront of the trend to “set real estate information free” online, so the merger of these two companies just means that consumers are going to continue to be able to use these sites to educate themselves and be more actively involved in and educated about the home-buying and selling process.