REA Group Sees Revenue Drop in Q3 Amid Australian Headwinds

The Melbourne-based real estate portal operator REA Group has released a report on its activities for Q3 of the Australian financial year. Highlights of a quarter affected by a challenging Australian housing market include:

• Company revenue declined 3% year-on-year to A$269 for the quarter.
• EBITDA excluding associates declined by 13% to A$136m.
• Traffic to Realestate.com.au was flat year-on-year at 125 million average monthly visits.

Revenue generated by the group's domestic operations including flagship portal Realestate.com.au declined 6% year-on-year as the number of for-sale listings dropped by 21% and new build commencements fell by 17%.

The impact of the drop in inventory was offset by increased depth product penetration and a slight increase in rental revenue in the quarter.

The company's domestic financial services business, which was boosted in 2021 by the A$244 million acquisition of the brokerage Mortgage Choice, saw revenues down for the quarter. The business was impacted by reduced market activity in new home lending and lower average loan sizes.

The company did note that the integration of Mortgage Choice is now largely completed and that recruitment for the business is continuing with 1,047 brokers working as of the end of the quarter.

Commenting on his company's performance in Q3, REA Group Chief Executive Officer, Owen Wilson said:

“While interest rate uncertainty continued to impact the Australian property market, conditions have improved with the stabilisation of house prices and more vendors returning to the market. The movement in listings reflects the strong listings environment in Q3 last year prior to the commencement of the interest rate increases.

The strength of REA’s premium product offering and audience continued to support revenues, and our Indian business delivered exceptional growth.”

As well as its operations at home, REA Group operates the Housing.com and Makaan portals through REA India. The company has been investing money in India over recent years and has managed to grow Housing.com into a leader in terms of traffic without yet reaping any financial rewards.

The company said that Indian revenue was up 63% year-on-year in Q3 driven by Housing.com which saw a 21% audience boost.