The Newspaper Association of America is preparing to release a new study showing that -- despite apparent gains by the Internet industry -- newspaper classifieds remain the No. 1 choice of Americans when searching for real estate information.

The survey tends to contradict popular theory that newspaper real estate classifieds are declining as Internet popularity increases. The NAA reports classified advertising was up in the first quarter of 1999 by $4.1 billion, a 3.8 percent increase over the first quarter of 1998.

The new report, due out in July, was discussed at the NAA's annual conference on classified advertising during the weekend in Vancouver, B.C. The NAA represents some 2,000 daily newspapers in the United States and Canada.

According to the study, newspaper classified continue to be the consumer's No. 1 choice of real estate and homes for sale data.

"Consumers trust newspapers for the information they need every day. So when it comes to buying a home, one of the most important decisions in their lives, it's no surprise that they turn to newspapers, both in print and online," NAA President and CEO John F. Sturm said at the Vancouver meeting.

The survey found that homebuyers and homeowners tend to subscribe to newspapers: It found that nearly 80 percent of those actively involved in buying a home had read a local, daily newspaper in the past week, and five out of six had read a Sunday newspaper in the past month.

The adults polled said they used newspapers when shopping for a home because they are easy to obtain, inexpensive and frequently updated. In addition, they cited that newspapers provide contact information, extensive advertisement listings, open-house details and geographical listings.

The study also found that newspaper editorial real estate sections are popular with home buyers. About 75 percent of homebuyers read real estate-related articles or editorials when searching for a home -- an additional 66 percent of subscribers even read real estate articles when they're not in the market for a new home.

When looking for a home, consumers refer to their newspaper's real estate section an average of once every other day. During a typical home search, consumers used daily newspapers an average of 25 times, the study found.

The survey was conducted by NFO Research Inc. in Atlanta. More than 3,000 recent home buyers were surveyed via a written questionnaire.

Spokesmen for HomeStore and HomeAdvisor, two of the larger Internet property ad sites, could not be reached for comment.

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Published: June 15, 1999

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