REA and Domain start to focus on targeting ads to counteract decrease in listings

Both Domain Group and REA Group's property portal, realestate.com.au, have begun to lean on targeted advertising on social media in response to the decrease of property buyers in Australia.

Analysts at Macquarie Bank have recalculated earnings at real estate classified businesses Domain, majority owned by Nine, and News Corp’s REA, which runs realestate.com.au.

The key reason is that the analysts see property listings slipping further than expected and dragging down earnings in the second half of the financial year.

The analysts now see a 10% fall in property listings for the six months to June, up from the previous assumption of a 6% drop. 

“From our recent conversations with agents, we also see increased used of both social media/targeted advertising, as well as investment in direct communication via e-Brochures using databases provided by REA and in some cases DHG (Domain),” the analysts say.

Property analysts at CoreLogic data point to falls in property listings, down 15.2% in Melbourne and 22.9% in January, dropping again in February by 21.9% in Melbourne and 25.3% in Sydney.

“The combination of school holidays with the adjacency of Anzac Day and a late Easter, means that listing activity during April is likely to be very subdued,” the analysts write in a note to clients.

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