REA Group (ASX:REA) reported a “good first half result” for FY26, supported by what management described as double-digit residential yield growth and continued investment in artificial intelligence-led product development. In the company’s 2026 half-year results presentation, CEO Cam McIntyre and CFO Jenelle Hopkins highlighted record audience levels across realestate.com.au, continued product penetration gains in premium listings, and improved momentum in key listing markets during the December quarter.
Financial performance and capital returns
For the half, REA said revenue rose 5% from the prior corresponding period (PCP) to AUD 916 million. EBITDA excluding associates increased 6% to AUD 569 million, while net profit after tax climbed 9% to AUD 341 million.
Hopkins added that operating expenses from core operations increased 3% to AUD 347 million. REA ended the half with a closing cash balance of AUD 478 million and generated operating cash flows of AUD 373 million.
Market conditions: a “two-speed” listing environment
Management described the Australian property market as “healthy” with strong demand and improving Sydney and Melbourne listings in the second quarter. Nationally, however, REA said it was seeing a “two-speed market,” with new buy listings down 6% for the half.
Hopkins said buyer listings improved sequentially, with the decline narrowing from 8% in Q1 to 3% in Q2 as comparables eased. She noted that in Q2, Melbourne was flat year-on-year and Sydney was up, while Brisbane and Perth were down 12% and 20% respectively.
McIntyre said buyer inquiries surged to four-year highs nationally, supported by a predominantly steady interest-rate environment during the period, though he noted an interest-rate increase occurred during the week of the call and had been “widely flagged.”
Australian residential: yield growth offsets lower listings
REA’s Australian residential segment delivered 7% revenue growth despite the listing decline, which the company attributed to strong yield performance. Hopkins said buy-yield increased 14% for the half, driven by:
- A 7% average Premier+ price rise
- Growth in add-ons, particularly Audience Maximiser
- Increased subscription revenues
- Higher depth penetration, including a 1% positive impact from Geomix
Excluding Geomix, Hopkins said “controllable yield growth” was 13%.
Management highlighted continued momentum in its paid depth products. McIntyre said REA achieved record Premier+ depth penetration in residential. He also pointed to additions such as a “serious buyer metric” exclusive to Premier+ listings, powered by PropTrack, which analyzes behavioral signals to identify high-intent consumers and is intended to help agents optimize campaigns and vendor conversations.
On Luxe, REA’s high-performance listing solution, Hopkins said it was still “early days,” but penetration doubled from FY25 to the first half of FY26 and was tracking in line with expectations. She added that nearly two-thirds of Luxe listings were for properties under AUD 3 million.
In rentals, REA said revenue grew on high single-digit yield growth, partly offset by a 2% decline in listings.
Commercial, financial services, and international operations
Commercial and new homes revenue increased 10% to AUD 121 million. Commercial revenue rose 9% on yield growth (including an average 7% price rise and increased depth penetration) with listings broadly flat. New homes revenue grew 11%, which Hopkins said marked the first double-digit growth for the segment in five years, driven by project profile volumes and yield, as well as higher display revenues.
REA’s financial services segment delivered what Hopkins called an “excellent half,” with revenue up 11% to AUD 58 million and EBITDA up 14%. Mortgage Choice revenue rose 12% with a 14% increase in settlements and improved broker productivity, partly offset by higher broker payout rates. Submissions increased 24% in the first half, which Hopkins said suggested settlement growth could remain strong in the second half. PropTrack revenue grew 11% on new customer data contracts. McIntyre also highlighted a 26% increase in realestate.com.au-generated broker leads and a 32% rise in submissions from REA leads.
In India, Hopkins said Housing.com revenue was flat at AUD 26 million (up 3% on a constant currency basis), with competitive pricing and packaging pressures weighing on yields. Housing.com’s EBITDA loss was AUD 19 million. McIntyre said REA had strategically refocused on Housing.com and cited an app-first strategy and platform improvements, including 20% year-on-year leads growth delivered to customers in Q2.
In North America, REA consolidated iGUIDE from October 2025 following the acquisition of a controlling stake in Planitar. Hopkins said iGUIDE generated AUD 6 million in revenue and was broadly EBITDA neutral, with underlying life-for-life growth of 23% in the half. McIntyre said iGUIDE is the market leader in Canada and that early signs in Australia were “really strong,” with initial customer sales in recent weeks. REA also holds a 20% stake in Move, operator of realtor.com. Hopkins said Move’s revenue grew 10% and lead volumes turned positive, up 5% in the half and 13% in Q2, while REA’s equity-accounted contribution was a loss of AUD 10 million (a AUD 1 million improvement).
AI initiatives, costs, and FY26 outlook
Management repeatedly emphasized AI as a strategic priority. McIntyre said REA had rolled out natural language search to about half of web visitors after a 12-month trial and was running a conversational search trial for 10% of the web audience. He said conversational search could generate richer intent data and encourage actions such as saving or sharing listings.
On internal adoption, McIntyre said about 90% of Australian employees had completed foundational AI training, 85% regularly used the company’s internal AI assistant, and 90% of the global tech team leveraged AI daily.
Analysts questioned cost pressures tied to AI and technology. Management said it remained confident it could continue investing in AI within existing guidance and reiterated a focus on “open jaws” over time. Hopkins said Australian cost growth reflected wage inflation and headcount investment, higher cost of goods sold linked to Audience Maximiser penetration, increased marketing (including timing of a REA event and sports sponsorships), and higher technology license costs and AI investment.
For outlook, REA expects national residential buyer listing volumes to decline 1% to 3% in FY26, citing larger-than-expected declines year-to-date in Perth and Brisbane. The company anticipates 12% to 14% residential buyer yield growth, noting Geomix movements could affect the magnitude. India EBITDA losses are expected at AUD 40 million to AUD 45 million, and associate losses are expected to improve marginally versus FY25.
Hopkins also noted FY26 depreciation and amortization guidance of AUD 138 million to AUD 147 million, modestly lower than previously guided due to the exit of Housing Edge in India. She said this half-year result was her final one with REA, with McIntyre acknowledging her contribution as CFO.
About REA Group (ASX:REA)
REA Group Limited engages in online property advertising business in Australia, India, and internationally. It provides property and property-related services on websites and mobile applications. The company operates residential, commercial, and share property sites, such as realestate.com.au, realcommercial.com.au, smartline.com.au, makaan.com, housing.com, PropTiger.com, realtor.com, Flatmates.com.au, property.com.au, simpology.com.au, campaignagent.com.au, proptrack.com.au, myfun.com, housing.com, propertygurugroup.com, realtor.com, spacely.com.au, rumah123.com, iproperty.com.sg, 99.co, and 1form.com.au.
