Showing the group’s competitive advantage and strong ‘network effect’, margins have also been growing, as REA has the ability to raise prices, without significantly affecting its revenues or profits. REA owns the leading online residential property business in Australia, with few major competitors. Fairfax Media Holdings’ (ASX: FXJ) Domain business would probably be ranked second, but that would a distant second. As REA recently reported, it saw 19.4 million visits, while its closest competitor saw 8 million visits. 75% of time spent on property sites was on REA Group sites.
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