Realtor.com Sees 9% Revenue Growth as It Looks to Pivot Business Model

The ASX-listed media giant News Corp revealed that its U.S. real estate portal Realtor.com saw revenues increase 9% in the latest quarter. Notable points from News Corp's report for the first quarter of its financial year include:

• Revenue was up 9% year-on-year at $152 million
• Traffic (average monthly unique users) was down 6% at 72 million
• Lead volume was down 1%

The revenue increase came amid a domestic housing market that continues to see low transaction volumes. In a call with investors and analysts, News Corp CEO, Robert Thomson attributed the uptick in revenue to the portal's team and its leader, Damian Eales and the work being done to shift monetisation models.

Along with rival Zillow, Realtor.com has been increasingly moving away from its traditional model which sees buyers' agents simply pay for leads. Where Zillow has been focusing on transactional revenue (Flex) and its pay-for-exposure product (Showcase), Realtor.com has moved in recent quarters to push its RealPro Select product, which targets large brokerages and bundles a suite of enhanced digital marketing services, offering brokers more robust exposure for their listings and branded presence.

Thomson was optimistic that the hard work would stand the portal in good stead for an anticipated housing market upturn.

"With the Federal Reserve cutting rates and the current 30-year mortgage rate approaching 6%, it is reasonable to conclude that we will be high-fiving when mortgage rates are in the high 5s."

While revenue was up, traffic to Realtor.com's website and app was down slightly, with News Corp reporting 72 million unique monthly visitors to Realtor.com over the period. Thomson reminded investors that the NAR-backed portal has invested in "uniqueness and quality" and, as a result, is seeing a larger number of visits per user, "clearly outstripping Zillow and other lesser sites".

The quarter also saw a raft of product innovations at Realtor.com as the portal keeps up with the quickening pace being set by its rivals. The launch of natural language search and image recognition tools has been followed by immersive aerial tours and a new 'Spotlight Listing' product offering and enhanced features for Realtor's Local Expert marketing product.