Real Estate Newspaper Ads Thriving

Housing's strength in the economy and the number of homes being sold are fueling an increase in real estate advertising in newspapers, says Charlie Diedrich, director of marketing and advertising for the Newspaper Association of America.

Real estate ads during the third quarter of 2002 rose 1.6%, to $944 million, compared with the same quarter in 2001, the NAA reports. For the first nine months of 2002, real estate ads were up 3.4% to $2.5 billion.

"New home construction really benefits from newspaper presence because it’s not only seen in the classifieds but also, more increasingly, in the news section," Diedrich says. "The Internet is for preliminary research, but when consumers reach the moment of purchase or they want to select a builder, I think the newspaper is seen as more current."