The
challenges
examined
Homes.com’s
claims
that
it
has
156
million
monthly
unique
visitors
and
that
it
has
double
Realtor.com’s
traffic.
In
regard
to
the
first
claim,
the
NAD
said
that
it
felt
that
the
advertisement
“conveyed
a
message
that
Homes.com
attracts
156
million
monthly
unique
visitors
when
that
figure
was
based
on
combined
total
traffic,
calculated
using

Google
Analytics,
for
16
other
CoStar
websites.”

According
to
the
release,
Google
Analytics
data
shows
that
Homes.com
itself
has
110
million
monthly
unique
visitors.  

The
second
claim
brought
by
Move
asked
the
NAD
to
consider
the
accuracy
of
the
claim
that
“Homes.com
now
has
DOUBLE
Realtor.com’s
traffic.”
In
its
judgement,
the
NAD
reported
that
it
found
that
the
claim
was
not
supported
since

Homes.com’s
110
million
monthly
unique
visitors
is
not
“double”
the
66
million
unique
visitors
claimed
by

Realtor.com.

Notably,
the
NAD
said
that
it
did
not
consider
the
question
of
whether
Google
Analytics
and
Adobe
Analytics,
“both
site
centric
data
gathering
tools,
could
both
be
used
together
to
make
a
single
comparison
of
website
visitors.”
CoStar
Group
relies
on
Google
Analytics
data
to
monitor
site
traffic,
while
Realtor.com
told

HousingWire
in
May
that
it
uses

Adobe
Analytics.

The
NAD
also
noted
that
it
did
not
evaluate
the
accuracy
and
validity
of
Homes.com’s
110
million
monthly
unique
users
claim,
or
CoStar’s
Real
Estate
Network’s
156
million
monthly
unique
users
claim.
In
the
past,
Realtor.com
has
been
a

vocal
critic
of
the
validity
of
these
numbers,
but
based
on
the
NAD’s
rulings,
it
remains
to
be
seen
who
is
correct
about
these
numbers.

“We’re
pleased
the
National
Advertising
Division
saw
through
CoStar’s
smoke
and
mirrors
and
put
this
issue
to
rest
with
the
recommendation
that
CoStar
withdraw
their
false
advertising
claims
of
156
million
monthly
unique
users
for
Homes.com
and
having
double
the
traffic
of
Realtor.com,”
Damian
Eales,
the
CEO
of
Realtor.com,
said
in
a
statement.
“The
contrast
with
CoStar
is
becoming
increasingly
clear.
CoStar
has
misled
Homes.com
customers
while
Realtor.com
has
remained
focused
on
growing
a
quality
audience
and
quality
leads
for
both
buying
agents
and
listing
agents.”

In
a
release,

Realtor.com
says
that
it
“encourages
customers
who
bought
a
Homes.com
subscription
based
on
an
audience
of
156
million
to
go
to
the
following
16
URLs
and
try
to
find
their
brand
and
listings:


Apartments.com,

ApartmentFinder,

FinderSites,

ApartmentHomeLiving,

WestSideRentals,

ForRent,

After55,

CorporateHousing,

ForRentUniversity,

Cozy.com,

Off
Campus
Partners,

Homesnap,

CitySnap,

Land.com,

Landandfarm.com,
and

LandWatch.com.”

Gene
Boxer,
CoStar
Group
General
Counsel,
provided
this
comment
on
the
rulings:
“Homes.com
has
far
surpassed Realtor.com,
which
is
now
sliding
into
obscurity. CoStar
is
delighted
that
the
NAD
recognized
that
the Homes.com Network
had
156
million
unique
monthly
visitors
in
March
2024,
and
that Homes.com had
110
million
(as
calculated
by
Google
Analytics).

“Realtor.com reported
only
66
million
unique
monthly
users
in
the
same
period,
measured
by
Adobe
Analytics. CoStar
is
pleased
that
NAD
recognized
that
both
metrics
are
derived
from
‘site
centric
data
gathering
tools.’
As
a
result, Homes.com is
the
#2
most-visited
residential
real
estate
portal,
far
surpassing Realtor.com,
and
the Homes.com Network
has
double
the
traffic
of Realtor.com. 

“Apples
to
apples, Realtor.com is
losing
the
portal
wars,
and
losing
big,”
Boxer
said.
“Consistent
with
NAD’s
decision,
CoStar
will
continue
to
advertise
that
fact
and
disclose
the
number
of
unique
visitors
to
the Homes.com Network
and Homes.com.  Realtor.com’s
NAD
gambit
can’t
change
those
numbers,
or
the
reality: Realtor.com has
fallen
far
behind.  Realtor.com keeps
trying,
and
keeps
failing,
to
hide
the
facts. 
We
couldn’t
be
happier
to
continue
spreading
the
word
about
the
success
of Homes.com,
and
in
compliance
with
the
NAD’s
recommendation,
the
success
of
the Homes.com Network.”   

Last
week,
Realtor.com’s
parent
company
Move

filed
a
suit
against
CoStar
Group
and
former
Realtor.com
employee
James
Kaminsky,
alleging
that
the
current
Homes.com
employee
stole
Realtor.com
trade
secrets
to
help
fuel
the

rapid
growth
of
Homes.com.

In
an
interview
with
HousingWire,
Florance
called
the
suit
a

“PR
stunt,”
stating
that
there
was
zero
validity
in
the
claims
Move
brought
specifically
against
CoStar
Group.