PRINCETON, N.J., Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- New research by The Kelsey Group indicates a gap between the sources to which home buyers turn to get information about real estate and the media that advertisers use to promote property for sale. Sellers turn first to newspapers (24%), followed by signs (19%) to advertise real estate for sale, while buyers turn equally to newspapers (30%) and online (30%). And the younger generation, which is the most active real estate-buying age group (18- to 34-year-olds), turns to online sources first.

"This lag is not uncommon," said Neal Polachek, Kelsey Group senior vice president, advisory services, research and consulting. "Eyeballs move more quickly than ad dollars, and this is just another clear example. The question is, How fast will ad dollars catch up with the shift in eyeballs?"

Based on data from the Newspaper Association of America and The Kelsey Group's forecast, Kelsey analysts anticipate US$7.75 billion will be spent on real estate classified advertising -- offline and online -- in 2006. Online listings, paid search, Internet newspaper and other online sources will drive the Internet ad share to 44.3 percent as the real estate transaction is more closely linked to financial and move-related services through consolidation.

There is no shortage of online home buyers for those early adopters who are advertising online today. According to the National Association of Realtors, use of the Internet to search for a home has risen dramatically, increasing from 2 percent of buyers in 1995 to 77 percent in 2005 (up from 74 percent in 2004).

"Clearly, the underlying buyer and seller trends suggest we are reaching a tipping point regarding the transition of ad dollars from offline media to online media," said Matt Booth, Kelsey Group senior vice president and program director, Interactive Local Media and Marketplaces. "There's a tremendous opportunity for established and new players to deliver home buyers a more compelling experience, which integrates the familiarity of paper with the robustness of digital."

"It's clear that home buyers and sellers are doing their research online -- study after study shows this, and there's an incredible opportunity for advertisers to get in front of this group," said Spencer Rascoff, CFO and vice president, marketing, Zillow.com. "For example, 86 percent of Zillow users own a home, and more than half plan to buy or sell in the next two years. A real estate or financial services advertiser can't get a more focused audience than this."

Rascoff is a featured speaker at The Kelsey Group's upcoming Interactive Local Media 2006 (ILM:06) conference, Nov. 29-Dec. 1, 2006, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Two other conference sessions will examine online local media and the real estate segment:

* "Homing in on Consumer and Advertiser Trends in Real Estate," featuring panelists Jamie Glenn, vice president, product management, Trulia; Prem Luthra, senior vice president, Move.com; Justin McCarthy, manager, SPD, Google Local; and Michael Yang, senior director, business development, Yahoo! Real Estate. * Featured speaker: Glenn Goad, executive vice president, consumer strategy, Network Communications, Inc. NCI is the leading publisher of printed and online real estate information in North America. Its publications include "The Real Estate Book" and "Apartment Finders."

ILM:06 is The Kelsey Group's 11th conference devoted to digital media with a local focus. For more information about the conference, visit http://www.kelseygroup.com/ilm2006.

Additional Survey Findings and Methodology

This consumer omnibus study was conducted in June 2006 through 1,000 random telephone interviews. The study covered several topics, including where consumers go to find information about movie listings, automobile and real estate purchases, and where sellers go to market their automobiles and real estate for sale. Additional findings from the survey include:

* Among buyers who said they go online, 79% were 18 to 34 years old. Of those respondents who'd had a real estate transaction, 51% were in the 18 to 34 age group. * Real estate agents are used in slightly more than half of all real estate transactions. Those home buyers who do use real estate agents find them through personal referrals. Only a handful of home buyers (6%) used the Yellow Pages to find an agent. About The Kelsey Group

The Kelsey Group is the leading provider of research, data and strategic analysis on directories, small-business advertising and online local media. Founded in 1986, the company has built a reputation as the premier analyst firm covering the directory publishing community and the emerging local search marketplace, providing advisory services (The Kelsey Report(R) and Interactive Local Media), publishing (Global Yellow Pages(TM) and Local Media Journal(TM)), consulting (more than 300 individual assignments) and conferences (65 events).

Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click appropriate link. Neal Polachek http://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=36838 Matthew Booth http://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=48602

CONTACT: Eileen Pacheco for The Kelsey Group, +1-781-556-1026,
eileen@tango-group.com

Web site: http://www.kelseygroup.com/