The REA Group Ltd (ASX: REA) share price is on watch after reporting solid growth in its FY26 result.
REA Group is the owner of realestate.com.au, as well as multiple other property-related businesses such as Mortgage Choice and realcommercial.com.au.
FY26 result
We’re going to look at the highlights for the 12 months to 30 June 2026, which mostly refer to its core operations’ performance:
- Revenue rose 7% to $1.79 billion
- Operating expenses were flat at $705 million
- EBITDA (EBITDA explained) excluding associates rose 12% to $1.09 billion
- Net profit growth of 15% to $650 million
- Reported net profit declined 19% to $552 million
- Free cashflow up 17%
- Final dividend up 25% to $1.73 per share
- Full-year dividend up 20% to $2.97
What happened in the result?
The numbers were impacted by what happened in India following the shutdown of Housing Edge and the sale of PropTiger in the first half. REA India will also sell Housing.com to listed Aurum PropTech and REA India will hold a 24.9% stake in Aurum after the sale.
In Australia, REA saw revenue growth of 11% and expense growth of 7%, which was in line with guidance. Australian EBITDA excluding associates rose by 13%.
Its reported net profit included the $111 impairment of REA India in FY26, as well as the $117 million reversal of impairment on the sale of PropertyGuru in FY25.
Australian performance
Realestate.com.au is the key driver of the business in Australia, and the company overall. Residential revenue increased by 12% thanks to strong buy yield (essentially how much revenue it attracts from each listing) growth. The volume of buy listings were flat, which was better than the expected 1% to 3% decline.
There was a stronger-than-expected fourth quarter for FY26 for volume listings.
REA Group boasted about record Australian audiences and engagement, with 12.7 million people visiting per month on average. There were 146.4 million monthly visits (up 11%) and 2.5 million buyer enquiries (up 8%).
Other developments
REA Group said that its consumer-facing AI assistant is now available to all of its members and Campaign Assist is accessible to all customers on Ignite. The next generation of AI-powered tools has been rolled out to Mortgage Choice brokers.
It also said the video hub was launched on the app home screen, which the company says will be a key value driver for customers in FY27.
REA Group said it has diversified Mortgage Choice into commercial lending with the acquisition of a 70% controlling stake of Simplicity.
It also noted the acquisition of North American 3D visualisation business Planitar maker of iGUIDE from October 2025, with Australia operations launched in March 2026.
In terms of North American performance, Move revenue rose 11% to US$610 million, driven by higher sales at RealPRO Select as Move shifts its focus to more premium offerings, and revenue growth in seller, new homes and rentals. The equity-accounted loss for REA’s 20% stake in Move was $14 million, an improvement from the $19 million loss last year.
Outlook for the REA Group share price
The company said that despite proposed federal taxation changes, global events and interest rate increases affecting overall sentiment, vendors continued to bring their properties to market, and national listing volumes remained in line with the prior year.
Due to higher-than-expected listings in the fourth quarter of FY26, new national buy listings are expected to be either flat or down in FY27.
July listings were 2% lower year on year and in line with the eight-year average – Melbourne and Sydney listings declined by a combined 16%, while Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide increased by a combined 13%.
REA Group expects profit margins to increase, while a low double-digit controllable residential buy yield growth is expected (excluding geographical mix), driven by an 8% Premiere+ price rise and growth in add-ons.
The REA Group share price has soared around 20% in FY27 to date, before today’s trading. The business could still be undervalued at this level, if it’s able to continue growing earnings at around 10% or more per year. But, I’m not sure whether vendors will happily continue taking price rises forever without looking at other advertising options. AI agents could also play a role in the future.
There could be other ASX growth shares that are better options.
