Key highlights — Property trends remain positive with premium ad volumes for both REA & Domain tracking ahead of expectations supported by improving listings volumes in Sydney & Melbourne. SEK ad volumes also remain strong with growth predominantly seen in the mining and construction industries. CAR ad volumes have been solid, showing no impact from recent price increases for Private advertisers.
REA: Premiere ad volumes +31% in Aug — Volumes in REA’s top ad category, Premiere, continue to track ahead of expectations (Citi est. +26% in FY18). With total Australian listings largely flat, the growth is being driven by higher depth penetration and a positive mix change as agents migrate from the mid-priced Highlight ads (-20% in Aug). Take-up of Premiere is particularly strong in metro Melbourne. Domain (FXJ): Rapid growth in Sydney — We estimate Premium Plus ads were up +12% in Aug, with particularly strong growth in Sydney (+26%) boosted by total listings growth. We expect this growth to accelerate over the next few months as comps get easier in Melbourne as well. Ad volumes were particularly weak last JulOct in Sydney and Aug-Nov in Melbourne.
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David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal.
He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.
