HomeServices of America said Thursday it hired Alon Chaver, a former vice president at Trulia, as chief information officer, a new position at the firm.

The position was created to help Minneapolis-based HomeServices do a better job of gathering, analyzing and managing real estate sales and listing data.

Chaver will be responsible for strategic planning and business development and will be in charge of gathering, analyzing and integrating data across all platforms. "My top priorities are to assess current capabilities within the organization and the various sources that provide us with information, establish baselines and develop performance targets to drive our business goals," he said via e-mail.

Ron Peltier, chairman and chief executive, said the country's second-largest real estate company is expanding its technological capabilities to better support its agents and serve buyers and sellers.

"Expanding our executive leadership team with an individual of Alon's caliber and talent is an important first step," Peltier said in a statement. "Alon is an accomplished and dynamic leader and has been at the forefront of driving innovative products and services throughout the real estate industry."

At a time when home buyers and sellers demand more information about the real estate market, the vehicles for providing that data are multiplying and traditional brokers are competing with them.

At Trulia, one such newer competitor, Chaver was responsible for data acquisition and the development of products and services to support that firm's partnerships with the real estate industry.

Chaver is a director of the board of managers for the Broker Public Portal, a national MLS listing portal and an alternative to the current three dominant national real estate websites that's being facilitated by and has received the backing of many major real estate brokerages and multiple listing services.

Before Trulia, Chaver was chief executive of iHomefinder, a website vendor. Chaver, who has a law degree from the University of California, will based in Berkeley, Calif., where he now lives.

Jim Buchta • 612-673-7376