Websites Hit Newspaper Property Advertising

Regional newspapers which drew revenue from property advertising have been hard hit by web sites. Some local newspapers which have been heavily dependent on advertising which is focused around flats and houses to rent or buy, and which are aimed primarily at attracting tenants, landlords, and estate agents, face financial difficulties. Newspapers are having a parlous time as landlords and agents grow more canny and demanding and as Web property portals become more sophisticated in luring landlords, agents and tenants.

Local newspapers have suffered a triple whammy as car and property sales have collapsed. Websites carrying fewer staff, lower fixed overheads, no printing or newsprint costs, no distribution costs and which are not reliant on the vicissitudes of Britain??â??â??s railways, can offer advertisers world-wide exposure and cut-throat advertising rates.

Many regional newspapers produce weekly car and property supplements which in some cases had become financial pit-props. But the supplements have been savaged by the crisis as advertisers switched to the Web. property people know the value of their advertising to newspapers and as the crisis has deepened their demands have intensified.

A high-level source in a top estate agency, who asked not to be identified, admitted that groups of estate agents in provincial towns would sometimes act in concert to drive down rates in their local newspapers ??â??â?? knowing how dependent the papers are on their continued support. Estate agencies ??â??â?? as well as newspapers - are fighting for their life. An estimated 15,000 estate agents have lost their jobs ??â??â?? and it could double by next year.

Regional newspapers have been closing down or reporting poor figures at an alarming rate. The Daily Mail group is expected to make redundancies in its national and regional titles. Johnston Press and the Trinity Mirror group have reported dire news.

All conventional media outlets dependent on advertising face difficulties. ITV shares are at rock-bottom ??â??â?? takeover rumours abound ??â??â?? and boss Michael Grade has announced big redundancies and wants to junk public service broadcasting. Commercial radio has undergone takeovers, redundancies, and a massive reorganisation in sales and output. It is having to fight hard to retain market share and advertising revenue.

In newspapers it is not only provincial titles under pressure. The Independent group is making 90 redundancies. It had talks with Zac Goldmsith ??â??â?? son of the late controversial James Goldsmith ??â??â?? but the discussions ceased. It was reported that Goldsmith ??â??â?? rich though he is ??â??â?? and his socialite sister Jemima Khan ??â??â?? were too shrewd or did not have pockets deep enough to get embroiled in the troubled Independent group.

Newspapers used to be able to look forward to advertising revenues being bolstered during the bleak post-Christmas period by retail chains promoting their Xmas sales.
They are especially important now with newsprint ??â??â?? always a source of angst for the newspaper industry - due to rise in cost by 20 per cent early in 2009.

But snap High Street pre-Christmas sales are running now. Customers have become so savvy they expect to find sales and bargains all the year round. Newspapers are waiting anxiously to see if the High Street chains will commit to their usual post-Yule advertising splurge. And even if they do ??â??â?? retail bosses will try to cut advertising rates to the bone.

landlords with properties to let ??â??â?? and tenants looking for flats or houses to rent ??â??â?? have switch to Web sites in droves. Existing householders unable to sell their properties are now trying to rent them out. The ??â??Ë?amateur??â??â?? landlords look for the cheapest advertising deals and often end up favouring the web. Thelettingsite.co.uk offers completely free advertising to tenants looking to rent and landlords and agents looking to let properties.

With unemployment rising and people moving to different parts of the country to seek work the Web has a major advantage over local papers. At the click of a button users can scan flats or houses to rent anywhere in the country ??â??â?? often with a gallery of photographs.

Amid a sea of gloom there has been a bit of good news for the regional press. BBC trustees have rejected a ??Â?68 million plan for a network of local video news websites which would have further damaged Britain??â??â??s once proud and thriving local newspapers.