Real Estate Ads Migrate Online

Online real estate ad spending will total an estimated $1.719 billion this year, marking around 15 percent of the projected $11.698 billion total real estate spending, according to a new report by Borrell Associates.

By 2010, the proportion of real estate ad dollars spent online will more than double to 32 percent, according to the report, "2006 Update: Online Real Estate Advertising." In fact, while total real estate ad spending is predicted to fall to $9.557 billion, Web spending on real estate ads will climb to about $3.068 billion.

The report predicted that much of the growth in online real estate ad spending will come at expense of newspapers. This year, real estate ads in newspapers are predicted to total $4.327 billion--down almost 8 percent from last year's estimated $4.682 billion.

While that drop is substantial, it's minor compared to the decline that Borrell predicts will happen in the next four years. By 2010, newspapers will capture just 30 percent of real estate ad dollars, or $2.9 billion--a lower figure than the Web, according to the report. Borrell predicts that the decline will be particularly acute at the largest metropolitan newspapers; smaller suburban and alternative papers might fare better because those outlets "offer more targeted buys," stated the report.

Although realtors have increased their use of Web ads, a recent Borrell survey of 535 agents found that around one in three--38 percent--advertise online. Twenty-nine percent said they advertise on local newspapers' Web sites, while just 13 percent said they use paid search.

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