Our annual assessment of Real Estate advertising -- an ad category that rivals Automotive in size -- shows a return to healthy growth, up 4.1 percent this year. The most-watched real estate segment, spending by agents and brokers, is up even more. Our 2017 report details the ups and downs, including what's happening with the underpinnings of the industry -- home sales, construction permits, and who's buying homes.
At $26.8 billion, Real Estate is one of the largest local advertising categories. And it's the first (and only category thus far) to see a scale-back of digital advertising. Our annual report details what's happening across all four categories - agents/brokers, rental managers, mortgage providers, and developers.
Real estate agents and brokers, among the first to adapt to digital media 20 years ago, may have discovered the digital saturation point. In 2015, while other types of advertisers are increasing digital budgets, agents and brokers will be scaling back. Although a small amount (-2%) it indicates that they may have reached the optimal ratio of digital to non-digital expenditures. Our annual review of advertising and marketing trends takes a deep dive into how this category is changing over the next 5 years and how habits of millennials are creating a boom in real estate advertising.
This is a Client Memo for subscribers only. If you’ve been waiting for the real estate boom and a commensurate comeback in advertising, plan to wait a bit longer. The latest data now shows that the residential real estate boom is still little more than a few distant thunderclaps with spotty showers. In fact, home sales are likely to be down this year, and we’ve just made a downward adjustment to our forecast growth in real estate advertising – 7% higher this year compared with 17% in 2013.
After years of decline, Real Estate is finally on the rebound. It’s shaping up to be a $27.3 billion category, up nearly 10% from 2012. Our annual review of advertising and marketing trends takes a deep dive into how this category has been reshaped over the past 15 years. The big headlines: Spending on newspapers is no longer declining, spending on homes magazines is up 30%, and online ad spending – while up nearly 17% this year – is likely to begin flat-lining soon.
Real Estate advertising will be a $23.7 billion category this year, down 16% from 2011. While virtually all media are suffering, expenditures on online media continue to grow, rising 15%. This year, 55% of all real estate advertising, or $13 billion, will be spent on online media. This 33-page report includes 24 charts and tables and is our annual outlook on the industry.
The downturn in the housing industry has forged deep changes in the way real estate professionals spend their ad dollars. Market indices point to a slow recovery in home sales, but the advertising recovery has already begun. Expenditures are forecast to increase 8 percent this year, to $21.8 billion. The most-favored medium is online, where agents, brokers, builders and mortgage lenders will plow $8.9 billion. That makes real estate the second-largest online advertising category. Our 56-page annual outlook examines housing trends, shifts in advertising between traditional print, online, broadcast and other channels, and takes a deep dive into what agents are doing – and thinking – about online marketing.
Has the mighty real estate advertising category peaked out for online media? Our "2010 Real Estate Outlook" describes major trends in spending by agents, brokers, apartment owners and mortgage lenders and issues our forecast for this year. This ad category declined 20% last year, from $24.4 billion to $19.6 billion. We're forecasting a mild bounce back in 2010 at 3% growth. Our annual assessment of this important category describes the situation and offers 20 charts and graphs detailing how real estate ad dollars are shifting. It also includes appendices offering detailed data on U.S. ad spending in this category, as well as a market-by-market estimates of national and local spending for 210 cities. Don't forget to sign up for the Webinar to discuss this report on Thursday, 2/4, 2pm to 3pm ET for just $75 (free for subscribers).