Real Estate Slowdown Hits Yahoo!’s Profits
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The slowdown in real estate sales is hurting web portal Yahoo! in the pocketbook. The combination of a slowing market, stronger online competition from AOL, MSN, and newcomers such as Zillow have created pressure on the Yahoo! bottom line in the real estate space.
Today, analysts are expressing some concern that Yahoo!’s third quarter will be the lowest of the year, partially because of a drop off in real estate advertising.
In the past year, the Internet has become the most popular place to buy and sell homes. As housing sales on the Web grew in popularity, the amount of money realtors spent on online advertising grew, as well.
That is rapidly changing. Sites like Craigslist, which offers no-fee listings, are much more attractive to sellers and buyers.
The bust for the big guys like Yahoo! has also provided a boost for up-and-coming specialty sites like Zillow.com and Realtor.com, as well as older leaders like AOL Real Estate and MSN Real Estate. via MSNBC.com.


Comment by EndTable20 on 6 October 2006:
Correction:
Realtor.com is not a new up and coming site, but is the NAR’s official consumer web suite, and is one of the old leaders who’s been online for over ten years.
Oh, and AOL’s and MSN’s real estate searches are powered by Realtor.com (and Move.com).
Comment by james haft on 13 October 2006:
On line advertising revenues are growing by leaps and bounds. The internet offers the lowest cost exposure possible for real estate.
Comment by Lamar Mullis on 4 March 2007:
No website deserves more attractive status because it is free. Buyers have an increasing threshold of information before they respond to an ad. Relevance and quality even if paid for provides a more attractive response to the advertiser.