PHOTO: Property Advertising in NZ Now a Two-Horse Race. SUPPLIED
A seismic shift is underway in New Zealand’s real estate media landscape, with two players—NZME and the newly unified Stuff and Trade Me—now effectively controlling where and how Kiwis see homes for sale online.
This consolidation follows the formal completion of a deal that sees Trade Me take a 50% stake in Stuff Digital, integrating New Zealand’s largest digital property and motoring platforms directly into the country’s most visited news website, Stuff.co.nz.
🔄 The Deal That Changes Everything
As of July 2, 2025, Trade Me’s vast classified engine—especially its property and motoring categories—now features directly on Stuff.co.nz. This marks the first time Trade Me content has appeared on the Stuff platform, and the start of a formidable commercial media alliance.
“Today marks the start of where the real work begins,” says Stuff Digital’s Acting MD Ben Haywood, “as we look to combine our strengths and lead new directions in the experiences, products and content New Zealanders love best.”
Game On: Trade Me and Stuff Merge Forces to Take on NZME’s OneRoof in Property Ad War
🧱 What This Means for Property Advertising
For real estate agents and property sellers, the message is clear: if you want your listing seen, you’re now advertising with either NZME or the Stuff–Trade Me machine—there’s no room for independent platforms in the premium listings space.
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🏡 NZME dominates with OneRoof integrated into its New Zealand Herald network
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🏘️ Stuff–Trade Me now unites listing inventory with audience at scale across Stuff.co.nz and Neighbourly
This duopoly means fewer options for real estate brands to diversify marketing spend, and more pressure to align with one of two ecosystems.
📊 Agents Face a Marketing Monopoly
With the bulk of real estate buyer traffic now funnelled through just two sources, many agents worry about:
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📈 Rising listing costs
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🧰 Reduced leverage for custom advertising
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🚫 Limited visibility for boutique or independent brands
“You’re either feeding the Trade Me–Stuff engine or locked into NZME’s OneRoof universe,” said one agency principal, speaking anonymously. “We’re effectively being told: pick a side.”
🧭 What Comes Next?
Trade Me’s Head of Property, Alan Clark, says the partnership is just getting started.
“Our focus is on generating the highest quality property market insights and rich content—together empowering Kiwis on their property journey,” he said in the July 2 media release.
With both NZME and Stuff making aggressive plays for data, content and classified dominance, the battle now moves into how well each platform can deliver real value to agents and vendors, beyond simple eyeballs.
📎 Summary:
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🤝 Trade Me and Stuff complete 50/50 joint venture on July 2
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🏘️ Real estate ads now centralised under just two platforms: NZME and Stuff–Trade Me
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💸 Agents may face higher costs and less flexibility in listing options
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🛠️ Pressure grows on independents and smaller agencies to “pick a platform”
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📣 Major implications for how Kiwis buy and sell homes online