Trulia Inc., an Internet startup focused on residential real estate, filed to raise $75 million in an initial public offering, aiming to capitalize on an improving U.S. housing market.

The San Francisco-based company's owners will sell the stock, according to a regulatory filing Friday, which didn't specify how many shares were being offered. The amount is a placeholder number used to calculate registration fees and may change. Trulia owners Accel Partners, Fayez Sarofim & Co. and Sequoia Capital plan to sell their stakes, the filing shows.

Trulia is a rival to Zillow Inc., which raised $69.2 million in its IPO in July 2011 and has seen its shares jump 79 percent since its market debut. The number of new-home building permits grew in the U.S. last month, a positive sign for the industry.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Deutsche Bank AG are managing Trulia's offering, with help from RBC Capital Markets LLC, Needham & Co.