REA Group sees listings decline especially in Sydney and Melbourne

The REA Group has lifted third-quarter revenue seven per cent to $198.6 million.

It noted income from its Australian real estate classifieds business rose despite a drop in listings.

REA warned that the market conditions are "not expected to improve in the short term", with fourth-quarter revenue growth slowing as listing volumes given the distractions of the federal election as well as the Easter and Anzac Day long weekends in April.

The two holiday weekends led to a 22 per cent decline in national listings in April with Sydney down 39 per cent and Melbourne down 35 per cent, it said in its quarterly earnings update filed with the ASX on Friday morning.

The drop was described as "exaggerated."

REA, which is majority-owned by News Corp, saw national listings in the three months to December 31 decline nine per cent on the previous quarter, with Sydney dropping 18 percent and Melbourne falling 12 percent.

"It's almost a decade since we've seen market conditions like these, especially in Sydney where the decline has been the most pronounced," REA chief executive Owen Wilson said in the statement.

"With the banking royal commission now behind us and the federal election taking place next weekend, we expect less uncertainty surrounding the property market as we enter the new financial year."

REA had a record 84 million visits in March, which they calculated as three times greater than Domain.