Realtor.com parent Move Inc.’s fiscal fourth-quarter revenue fell 2% year over year to $143 million as the site’s average monthly unique visitors stalled at 74 million.
Moving from Las Vegas to San Diego in 2025, Inman Connect will be bigger, better and bolder than ever. Join us Inman Connects San Diego July 30 to August 1, 2025 Join the brightest minds in real estate as they shape the future of the industry. Book your seat now and enjoy exclusive discounts.
According to a financial report released on Thursday, Realtor.com parent company Move Inc.’s fourth-quarter revenue fell 2% year-on-year to $143 million.
News Corp., the parent company of Move Inc., said rising mortgage rates and other macroeconomic headwinds contributed to the decline. Real estate revenue, which accounts for 80% of Move’s total revenue, fell 2% annually. Realtor.com’s sales and website traffic growth were flat this quarter, with the latter reaching 74 million average monthly unique visitors, according to internal data.
Overall, News Corp.’s digital real estate services unit performed well, with revenue growing 21% annually to $448 million. The division’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) rose 25 per cent annually to $135 million, driven by strong performance from Melbourne-based residential portal REA Group.
Unlike most U.S. companies, News Corp. uses a June 30 reporting method.
Robert Thomson
In a prepared statement ahead of the company’s earnings call, News Corp. Chief Executive Robert Thomson said News Corp. [artificial intelligence] Age, as they leverage a multi-year global agreement that gives OpenAI access to new and archived articles published by News Corp subsidiaries, including wall street journal and New York Post.
He said in a written statement: “Fiscal 2024 was an outstanding year for News Corp. Not only did we deliver strong earnings growth and create significant shareholder value, but we also positioned the company to prosper in the era of artificial intelligence. Preparation is an important step.
“Our landmark agreement with OpenAI is not only expected to be highly profitable, but will enable us to work closely with trusted and exceptional partners to create the future of professional journalism and origins.”
Thomson said digital real estate services, including Move, partly contributed to the company’s full-year growth, with revenue reaching $10.09 billion (a 2% annual increase).
Digital Real Estate Services’ full-year revenue increased 8% year-on-year to $1.7 billion; however, Move’s full-year revenue fell 10% to $544 million. Real estate revenue, which accounts for 80% of Move’s total revenue, fell 11% as referral model and core lead generation output declined in the face of continued market headwinds. The financial report explained that lead sales fell by 3% this year.
“Our core growth pillars – book publishing, digital real estate services and Dow Jones – have fueled continued profitability growth, and their strength bodes well for fiscal 2025,” he said. “We are confident about the company’s long-term prospects. “We are confident and will continue to review our portfolio with a focus on maximizing shareholder returns.”
Susan Panuccio | Image source: LinkedIn
During the company’s earnings call, Thomson and Chief Financial Officer Susan Panuccio expressed optimism about Realtor.com’s recent initiatives, including its “111 Reasons” advertising campaign to support buyer’s agents; Update Buyer and seller products for the portal, Advantage Pro, Real Choice sales and listing toolkit; and partnership with Zillow.
“It’s encouraging to see that we continue to have significant success in diversifying our revenue base through performance acceleration across our sell-side products; rentals, which includes our new partnership with Zillow; and new homes,” Panuccio said . “Together, these businesses accounted for 19% of revenue in the quarter and were up significantly compared to the prior year.”
“As we communicated last quarter, our focus is on best positioning ourselves for the housing recovery,” she added. “Our key strategic focus areas remain unchanged as we enter the new financial year, including modernizing our technology stack; investing in content across our products, most recently with the launch of new dynamic mapping capabilities; and leveraging News Corp’s networks to grow audience share.
Thomson did not comment directly on Realtor.com’s competition with CoStar-owned residential portal Homes.com, which escalated during the quarter as Move filed an advertising challenge with the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau program and in the U.S. District Court for the District of California .
“…The market itself is down and competition is more intense,” he said.
The CEO concluded his comments by praising the leadership of Realtor.com CEO Damian Eales, while noting that the portal is ready to respond to upcoming changes to commission procedures and take advantage of an upturn in the market.
“The market does appear to be on the verge of recovery,” he said. “I have to say, Damian has done a great job leveraging our media platform to raise awareness. [Realtor.com] and drive traffic, and there are a lot of expectations [and] Excited.
Email Marianne McPherson
