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Hitwise Intelligence - Sandra Hanchard - Asia Pacific

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Visits to Superannuation Websites Up as Rental Market Tightens

March 16, 2007

Amongst recent speculation that the current Australian rental crisis has been partly caused by a flight of investors to superannuation, I thought I'd look at how Hitwise data reflects the dilemma of property hunters:

The above chart indicates that visits to the Business and Finance - Superannuation category by Australian Internet users were at a 12-month high in March 2007. Searches for 'houses for sale' meanwhile appeared at a constant level during the year. The theory is that owners are looking to cash-in property because of incentives to invest in super before tax changes take place in July 1, 2007. A steady increase in searches for 'rental properties' since June 2006 reflects the ensuing competitive market for renters.

Renters Most Likely to Visit Property Websites

The Hitwise Lifestyle audience profiling tool further indicates that users who had the highest index in the online Property category belonged to the Mosaic Group, "Fashionably Wired". Earning high incomes, "Fashionably Wired" users are highly likely to rent, commonly in the inner- city suburbs. Their index within the property category increased from 127.4 to 132.56 in a 6-month period to March 2007, indicating that a higher percentage of this group is becoming engaged with property research online as the rental market tightens.

Publishers are addressing this need with new property websites: myhome.com.au, a service by PBL and Microsoft, has risen to 10th position in the Business & Finance - Property category for the week ending 10 March 2007 with 1.21% share, after debuting 2 weeks ago at a ranking of #162. Property.com.au, another newcomer in the category powered by realestate.com.au, ranked within the top 100 at #61 position for the week ending 10 March 2007.

We'll see if searches for 'rental properties' subside after July, if the housing market eases for renters as predicted.

Posted by Sandra Hanchard at 12:42 PM | (0) | (0)
In Categories Real Estate