By Stuart Condie

SYDNEY--Australian real-estate advertiser REA Group says it's ready to respond to what it expects will be a significant increase in marketing by its largest rival under the ownership of U.S.-listed CoStar.

Property analytics provider CoStar is poised to complete its takeover of classifieds group Domain later this month after the ASX-listed company's shareholders voted to accept a US$1.81 billion offer.

News Corp-controlled REA has been preparing for CoStar's entry since mid-2024 and is ready to counter any ramp-up in marketing outlay to maintain its audience share, Chief Executive Owen Wilson said Wednesday.

"We know their playbook. We know what they've done in the U.S., we know they've done in the U.K.," Wilson said on a call with analysts. "You can assume that our cost guidance absolutely has factored in their entry to the market and everything we think they might do."

REA has guided for high single-digit growth in core operating costs for the 12 months through June 2026, a pace below its targeted revenue growth rate.

"We feel confident we've got the right cost level and we've got the right mix to respond to what we anticipate they're going to do in terms of the impact on audience," said Wilson, who is scheduled to step down by the end of the year.

Wilson has joined privately owned used-car marketplace Carma as board chair.

News Corp is the parent company of Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires.

Write to Stuart Condie at stuart.condie@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 05, 2025 22:41 ET (02:41 GMT)

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