SYDNEY, May 18, 2026, 04:03 AEST
REA Group Ltd opens the new week in Australia with shares coming off an 8.4% drop for the week. The property portal had just posted better earnings and continued its share buyback. On Friday, the stock closed at A$162.01, up 0.48% for the day, after hitting A$176.89 the previous week.
ASX cash trading stayed shut at the dateline. The pre-open will start at 0700 Sydney time and trading opens shortly before 1000, so the last traded price is Friday’s close.
REA is looking to convince investors its main Australian listings business has more room to grow. Digital marketplace stocks have been under pressure from higher rates, softer sentiment and stiffer rivals. The S&P/ASX 200 closed Friday off 0.11% at 8,630.80, Reuters data showed.
REA said in a May 15 filing it bought 49,887 shares on the prior trading day, bringing the total repurchased to 603,999 shares for about A$97.8 million. The company runs an on-market buyback, buying shares through the exchange. REA is approved to buy back as much as A$200 million, but actual timing depends on market conditions and where its share price is.
REA’s third-quarter revenue came in at A$398 million, up 11% when stripping out mergers and acquisitions. Operating profit numbers looked solid too, with EBITDA excluding associates rising 16% to A$220 million. EBITDA, or earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, is a standard way to measure operating profit.
REA Group CEO Cameron McIntyre said double-digit revenue growth from Australian operations and solid yield gains in residential listings helped the result. Listing activity in Sydney and Melbourne “remained strong,” McIntyre said, adding REA is “well positioned” in what he called a more balanced market.
April’s listings report pointed to that. REA said new buy listings nationwide rose 19.4% over the year. Sydney climbed 25.0%, Melbourne added 19.6%, and Brisbane jumped 31.6%. Total stock on market still fell 5.3%, showing supply is tight in some areas.
REA’s residential Buy yield jumped 14% in the quarter, lifted by a 7% average price rise for Premiere+. Most of that growth came from higher prices, new products and add-ons. That is keeping margins up, but it’s got investors watching for any signs that agents or vendors might resist higher costs if housing turnover slows.
Competition is now front and center. CoStar Group finished buying Domain in August, giving REA’s biggest Australian competitor new U.S. financial backing. CoStar said Domain saw an average of 7 million monthly Australian users. REA reported 12.9 million average monthly visitors for realestate.com.au in its quarter. CoStar CEO Andy Florance said at the close the aim was to “deliver more, for less.” CoStar Group
REA’s shares jumped 8% after its results, with Jefferies analyst Roger Samuel—quoted by Saxo on May 11—saying that showed backing for its market position and no signs of market concern over Domain from CoStar. But the stock’s sell-off last week is pressuring that view.
Risk still on the radar. REA said higher interest rates and global events have hit sentiment. The company flagged the chance that Domain’s push could pressure ad pricing if agents want cheaper rates. India remains weak. Housing.com core revenue dropped 3% in constant currency, and total REA India revenue slid 65% after selling PropTiger and shutting Housing Edge.
Next week, the first thing to watch is if buyers hold Friday’s A$156.85 intraday low. After that comes the daily buyback updates and any sign that April’s lift in listings is still happening in May. REA is still the top name in Australian property search. The market has to decide if that’s enough to drive the share price higher again.
