Game On: Trade Me and Stuff Merge Forces to Take on NZME’s OneRoof in Property Ad War

PHOTO: Trade Me’s parent company Apax Partners is teaming up with Stuff

🏘️ Property Advertising Just Got a Major Shakeup in New Zealand

A new heavyweight has entered the ring.

Trade Me has confirmed it will acquire 50% of Stuff Digital, launching what could become the most formidable challenge yet to NZME’s OneRoof dominance in the online property space.

In a bold move announced this week, Trade Me’s parent company Apax Partners is teaming up with Stuff, combining the country’s largest online marketplace with one of its most powerful digital media networks.

📈 This new alliance will turbocharge Trade Me’s property arm and position the partnership to aggressively go after a bigger slice of the booming real estate advertising pie.

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📣 What This Means for Property Advertisers and the Market

The merger sets the stage for a three-way showdown in real estate listings and ad revenue between:

Trade Me x Stuff
NZME’s OneRoof
Realestate.co.nz (and others playing catch-up)

Stuff brings the national reach and editorial firepower, while Trade Me supplies the tech infrastructure, brand loyalty, and massive user base.

Together, they’ll offer:

Integrated property listings
Premium advertising solutions
Content-driven lead generation
Cross-platform exposure across news and marketplace verticals

💰 Translation? Real estate agents will have a new platform with potentially better reach, pricing models, and marketing flexibility.

📰 Why This is a Big Deal

NZME has been pouring resources into OneRoof, bundling print, radio, and digital ads to dominate the space. But the Stuff/Trade Me alliance could disrupt that.

Here’s why:

Stuff has 415k daily digital readers and Trade Me clocks millions of monthly visits.
The duo now controls both eyeballs and buying intent.
It could pull spend away from traditional print-heavy packages that NZME leans on.

Expect fierce competition, aggressive pricing, and innovation in how property is advertised and consumed in NZ.

🔮 What to Watch For in 2025 and Beyond

Will Stuff start bundling free or discounted ad placements for agents?
Could Trade Me boost featured listings or prime homepage real estate through Stuff traffic?
Will real estate offices shift marketing budgets from OneRoof to this new combo?
Could this prompt realestate.co.nz to seek a strategic partner to stay competitive?