The rumours about CoStar’s possible acquisition of Move Inc., Realtor.com’s parent company, was apparently all a bunch of nonsense. During Tuesday’s fourth-quarter earnings call with investors, CoStar Group announced that it is not acquiring Realtor.com.
Florance also expressed his appreciation for Move Inc. by saying: “We are confirming that CoStar Group isn’t acquiring Realtor.com.” We have great respect for the people behind Realtor.com as well as the National Association of Realtors.
Andy Florance, CEO of CoStar, stated that the firm would be focusing on improving its Homes.com business.
Florance stated that the company’s planned investment in marketing to drive traffic will increase as we get closer to the point where we can monetize Homes.com. “We believe Homes.com’s business model, and our principals, are well aligned to the interests of NAR members and agents in general.”
CoStar reports that the number of unique visitors to Homes.com increased 130% in January, year-over-year.
Late January news broke that CoStar was in discussions with News Corp to purchase Move Inc. for a reported $3 billion. New Corp also stated that it was still in talks with CoStar Group over a possible sale of Move just 10 days ago.
News Corp stated Tuesday that it will continue to evaluate opportunities to support its strategy to maximize the value of its digital estate services segment and maximize shareholder value.
Florance responded to a question regarding whether CoStar would consider buying residential businesses to boost their business.
He said, “I believe we are very lucky to have a very feasible organic path.”