Business has been going badly for for publishers throughout the real estate industry.
Perhaps the hardest hit have been newspapers.
Overall, Gannett reported that Real Estate advertising was down 40% over 2007. By comparison, employment was down 33% and Automotive down 21%. Perhaps more telling is that circulation revenue is also down in line with declines in advertising.
What is not clear from the Gannett August release is the cause. Are newspapers seeing the predicted decline in readership caused by the internet, or is the soft economy the source?
Furthermore, the release did not offer any guidance on future growth or declines.
Historically Real Estate has always led America out of a recesion. This is the first time in history that real estate has led the economy into one. The pain is beginning to be felt around the world as the global economy braces for the America effect.
