Good morning, everyone. I'm Hamish McLennan, Chairman of REA Group Ltd. On behalf of the REA Group Board, I'm delighted to welcome you to our 2025 Annual General Meeting. Before we commence, I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of country throughout Australia and recognize the continuing connection to lands, waters, and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to elders past and present. There is a quorum present, and I declare the meeting open. The notice of meeting is taken as read. I would now like to cover the meeting procedures that we will be using today. Voting will be conducted by poll. Shareholders have the option of casting their vote before the meeting or appointing a proxy to do so on their behalf.
If you haven't done so, you can vote online as shown on the slide now being displayed and as explained in further detail in the online meeting guide that accompanied the notice of meeting. You can do so at any time during the meeting as the poll is now open for voting. Voting will close shortly after the end of the meeting. To help with the smooth running of the meeting, we invite shareholders and proxy holders to submit your online questions and comments now. Further details on how to ask questions or make a comment online are contained in the online meeting guide. If you encounter any technical issues with the platform at any time during the meeting, please contact the Share Registry's online AGM support team on 1-800-990-363.
In the unlikely event that technical issues prevent the meeting from proceeding as planned, REA will make announcements via the ASX and our website. As set out in the notice of meeting, only shareholders and proxy holders are entitled to vote on the resolutions, ask questions, or make comments. I will allow a reasonable opportunity to address questions and comments as each item of business is considered. Please ensure your questions or comment is relevant to an item of business at this meeting or the management of the company. Shareholders will also be able to ask questions of the company's auditor. Questions relating to customer, consumer, or personal shareholder matters won't be put at the meeting. Please observe a two-question limit per item of business and keep questions short and focused to ensure that as many shareholders as possible have an opportunity to ask questions.
Where questions are similar, we will aim to acknowledge those who have asked the question, but we'll provide a single response in order to streamline today's proceedings. Questions or comments that do not relate to REA will not be acknowledged or addressed during the AGM. Joining me today are my fellow directors, Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, Tracey Fellows, Richard Freudenstein, Michael Miller, Jennifer Lambert, Nick Dowling, and our CEO, Owen Wilson. Also in attendance is our CFO, Janelle Hopkins, and Company Secretary, Tamara Kayser, as well as Alison Parker, representing the company's auditors, EY. Turning to our agenda for today's meeting, firstly, I will provide a brief overview of REA 's FY 2025 highlights. Secondly, Owen will then talk to our FY 2025 operational performance and will share a brief update on current market conditions. Finally, in accordance with the notice of meeting, we will then move into the formalities.
Under the leadership of Owen and his executive team, REA Group delivered an excellent performance with strength in our core business and ongoing investment in future growth opportunities. The group's financial highlights from core operations for the full year include a 15% revenue growth to over AUD 1.6 billion, an 18% increase in EBITDA, excluding associates to AUD 969 million, and AUD 564 million net profit, an increase to 23%. The board declared total dividends of AUD 2.48 per share for FY 2025. The 31% year-on-year increase in this dividend per share reflects the group's consistent strong performance and the confidence our board has in the business's growth trajectory. The chart on this slide demonstrates the significant growth in the group's revenue and earnings since first listing on the ASX.
With innovation at our core, REA has consistently delivered shareholder value, as demonstrated by our strong 10-year CAGR of 12% revenue and 13% EBITDA. Our flagship site, realestate.com.au, was launched in a suburban Melbourne garage 30 years ago. Over the last three decades, our business has grown from one brand to a portfolio of more than 18 brands and businesses. Driven by a strong growth mindset, REA has cemented itself as the digital leader in property. In addition to our excellent financial performance in FY 2025, we continue to invest in future growth with key acquisitions that drive continuous innovation of our products and our experiences. Building on the strong foundation of our financial services business and the success of our partnership with Athena Home Loans, in October 2024, we acquired a 19.99% interest in the digital non-bank lender.
This investment supports our financial services strategy of providing Australian home buyers with more choice and a seamless experience when finding and financing a property. During the year, the group also acquired a minority stake in 3D visualization platform, IMMERSIV, and entered into an agreement for a minority investment in rural property data platform, Agtuary. IMMERSIV's products are specifically designed to support buying and selling off-the-plan properties. Agtuary supports property and finance professionals to make informed data-driven decisions in rural property management and investment. The transaction to divest the group's 17.2% stake in PropertyGuru was completed in December, ending our operations in Southeast Asia. We recently acquired a stake in AI-powered business, Jitty, based in the U.K., and last week we announced a majority investment in Planitar Inc, the maker of iGUIDE based in Canada.
It's no coincidence that the accelerated growth of the business over the last 10 years aligns to the tenure of our outgoing CEO, Owen Wilson. Owen has been instrumental in REA cementing itself as one of Australia's best homegrown technology success stories. After six years leading the group, he leaves a business incredibly well positioned for future growth. The list of achievements under his leadership is immense, and on behalf of the board, I would like to sincerely thank Owen for his outstanding contribution. You've been a fantastic leader over a long period of time, and I really appreciate everything that you've done for us, and I hope our shareholders recognize the work that you've done for them too. We look forward to welcoming our incoming CEO, Cameron McIntyre, in early November.
Cameron joins us from CAR Group, and he brings a deep understanding of and success in a business that has much in common with REA. He is the ideal person to build on REA's strong momentum and lead to our next phase of growth. In closing, I would like to thank REA's talented employees, executive leadership team, and my fellow board members for their dedication to REA's continued success. I would also like to extend my thanks to our valued shareholders for their support. REA has a strong balance sheet, a committed team, and the group is well positioned to continue to grow in FY 2026. I will now hand over to Owen to come up and talk about our operational performance.
Thank you, Hamish, and good morning, everyone. REA Group delivered an excellent FY 2025 result with double-digit yield growth, stronger consumer engagement, and increasing value delivered to our customers. Throughout the year, REA continued to invest in talent and technology and delivered exceptional customer and consumer products and experiences. To deliver on our purpose of changing the way the world experiences property, our strategy centers on engaging the largest consumer audience, delivering superior value to our customers, and leveraging unparalleled data and insights as we expand our core business and build next-generation marketplaces. On the right of this slide, you can see our strategic priorities, and I'll share some highlights from each of these priorities throughout the remainder of the presentation. This slide is a simplified view of REA's approach to AI. AI is an enabler that is enhancing the execution of our strategy and accelerating delivery.
As a digital leader, REA has been investing in AI and machine learning models for over a decade, and our investment has significantly increased in recent years. There are clear opportunities to innovate the way we extract and use data, enhance our products and experiences, and to improve operational efficiencies. There are many current use cases where AI is leveraged under these broad themes, including PropTrack's leading automated valuation model, realestate.com.au's highly personalized homepage experience, and AI-led tools that support developers with coding efficiencies. Turning to our key operational highlights for the year, Australians are property-obsessed, and on realestate.com.au they can find more properties for sale than anywhere else. Demonstrating the brand contribution and value of our flagship site, Australia's number one address in property was recognized as the sixth most valuable brand in the 2025 Kantar BrandZ ranking.
When it comes to property, Australians continually turn to REA's platforms throughout their journey. As you can see on this slide, our brands make up three of the top four property websites in the country, with realestate.com.au firmly in front. Looking at our audience highlights in more detail, realestate.com.au delivered record FY 2025 audiences, and we increased our lead over the nearest competitor, with 12.1 million people visiting the platform on average each month. More than 6.4 million of these people use our site exclusively, which means these potential property seekers can only be reached on realestate.com.au. The scale and deep engagement of our audience underpins the value we deliver to our customers. The chart on the right highlights realestate.com.au's unique audience growth over time, with the number of visitors to the platform more than doubling in the last eight years.
In FY 2025, more Australians turn to REA for all their property needs than ever before, including our commercial and property research platforms. Realcommercial.com.au is Australia's number one commercial property website. Its reach increased 26% compared to the prior year, with an average monthly unique audience of 1.9 million people, which is three times larger than the nearest competitor. Property.com.au is Australia's most comprehensive property research destination. The enhanced consumer experience in FY 2025 supported the platform's audience growth, with an average of 2.1 million people visiting the site each month. Turning to highlights for our consumers, our consumer strategy is centered on converting our unparalleled audience into members, and we delivered a 12% year-on-year increase in our active membership base. Our property owner experiences support the delivery of quality seller leads to our customers.
We reached a new milestone with 4.5 million properties now tracked by their owner on realestate.com.au, and the volume of seller leads delivered to our customers increased a pleasing 55% year-on-year. Our customers value our leading audience over any other benefit, and to ensure we continue to foster the strength of our audience in FY 2025, we introduced our next-generation listings initiative. NextGen is designed to reshape the property experience, fostering deep engagement with AI-led personalisation. The multi-year initiative has already delivered several new features, experiences, and benefits, with many more to come. Supporting the delivery of highly personalised, immersive, and engaging property experiences, we recently acquired iGUIDE. iGUIDE is a proprietary camera and software platform that uses advanced AI capabilities to identify property features and produce IMMERSIV 3D virtual tours, precise floor plans, and reliable property measurement data.
This type of spatial mapping technology helps instill confidence and supports property seekers to make more informed decisions, while also enabling agents and vendors to differentiate their property. Our priority is to continually enhance the value delivered to customers, and we're pleased our efforts were recognized with record customer sentiment achievement in FY2025. Our customers continue to prioritize our products and services, with record penetration of our top-tier residential product, Premier +, and our top-tier commercial product, Elite Plus. Powered by NextGen, Premier+ delivers 20% more inquiries than a Premier listing and sells properties 12 days faster on average. Uptake of our high-performance listing solution, Luxe, continues to build traction. Highlighting the value offered to our customers and their vendors, a Luxe add-on generates twice the number of views compared to a Premier+ listing.
Our self-service platform, Ignite, supports customers with workflow management efficiencies, and active users increased 25% year-on-year. Turning to our financial services business, improved market conditions throughout the year, a focus on supporting broker productivity, and strong brand activation supported the business's strong performance during the year. This included a 15% increase in submission volumes, which flowed through to a pleasing 10% increase in settlements. The finance experience on realestate.com.au was enhanced in FY 2025, with more prominent placement and new features. This uplift supported a 46% increase in realestate.com.au generated broker leads. Our higher margin white label products continue to resonate with buyers and perform well. Mortgage Choice Freedom, powered by Athena, surpassed AUD 2.7 billion in settlements during the year. Mortgage Choice was also recognized with various awards throughout the year. REA's global growth strategy is focused on the exciting opportunity in India.
We hold a 78% interest in REA India, which delivered strong revenue growth despite competition intensifying. We know apps are the future of the Indian property experience, and our investment has been focused on driving our app audience and enhancing the app experience. This delivered pleasing results, with Housing.com achieving 19% year-on-year growth in app sessions. We remain focused on listing quality and information accuracy. Verified listings are a key component of maintaining and nurturing consumer trust and driving audience. New verified listings on Housing.com increased 58% year-on-year. Housing.com continues to be REA India's priority, and we've sharpened this focus through a number of strategic decisions. In July 2025, REA India entered into a binding agreement to divest its PropTiger business, and the deal completed on 30 September. In addition, following recent regulatory changes impacting the Housing Edge offering, we've made the decision to discontinue this business this month.
This will impact India results in [FY 2026], as the Housing Edge business contributed EBITDA of approximately AUD 12 million in FY 2025. These decisions enable us to have a singular focus on our core business in India, and under the leadership of our newly appointed CEO, Praveen Sharma, we are excited for the next wave of growth. REA Group is committed to sustainable business practices, and we're pleased to make progress towards our sustainability goals in FY 2025. Our efforts were recognized with an increased MSCI ESG rating of AAA. In a bid to tackle the growing homelessness issue faced by many Australians, last month we launched A Home For All Foundation in partnership with the property industry. The foundation will drive awareness, raise funds, and build long-term change for people experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity.
REA's people are the beating heart of our business, and we're committed to fostering a diverse and high-performance culture. We were delighted to be recently recognized as Australia's third best workplace by Great Place to Work, and we also achieved a record high employment engagement score of 89%. Our Indian business was also Great Place to Work certified and achieved a strong 93% engagement score. Before we move to the formalities of the meeting, I'd like to touch briefly on current market conditions. As we said at our FY 2025 full-year results presentation, we are cycling over very strong listing comparables in the first quarter of FY 2026. As anticipated, buy listings are down year-on-year for Q1, however, they remain above long-term averages.
While listings are hard to predict, as we said in August, the softer comparables in the second half should see national FY 2026 listing volumes fall broadly in line with the prior year. Given the strength of the market last year, this would represent a continued healthy property market. Strong underlying fundamentals and the potential for further interest rate cuts should continue to support buyer demand and national house price growth. Engagement on realestate.com.au is a good measure of demand, and in August we saw a new record of 151 million visits to the site. National home prices have also reached record highs, up 6.2% over the last year, with September marking the ninth consecutive month of growth. These conditions offer a great time to sell, and vendors should continue to feel confident in bringing their properties to market. REA Group will announce its first quarter financial results on 7th of November.
In closing, I'd like to sincerely thank REA's exceptional executive leadership team for their contribution throughout the year. We're delighted to welcome Jane Cohen to our executive team as our new Chief Strategy Officer in July. We also recently farewelled our former Chief Product and Audience Officer, Melina Cruickshank, and I'd like to thank Melina for her contribution over her six years with the business. I'd also like to express my thanks to Hamish, our Chair, and our Board of Directors for your ongoing counsel and support over the past 11 years. It's been a great ride. If I had a dollar for every time Hamish and I have spoken on the phone over the last seven years, it would be a very big pile of gold coins. Finally, I'd like to thank our employees for their outstanding efforts.
Our people bring their best every day, and their pride in our business is consistently evident in the way they live our values and their commitment to delivering for our customers, consumers, and shareholders. REA's future is bright, and I know when I sign off at the end of this month, I'm leaving the business well positioned for continued growth. It's been an absolute privilege to lead this incredibly talented team and this amazing business. I'll be applauding from the sidelines as they continue to innovate, to grow, and to deliver increasing value to our customers and our consumers. I'll now hand back to Hamish to continue with the formalities. Thank you.
Thank you again, Owen, and the entire REA team for a fantastic result. I will now proceed with the formal business of the meeting. The notice of meeting sets out the matters for consideration by shareholders today, and the items of business are now being shown on the screen. During the meeting, when we get to each item, we will display the proxy votes and the direct votes received in advance of the meeting in respect of that item. As indicated in the notice of meeting, where I, as Chairman of the meeting, have been nominated as a shareholder's proxy, I intend to vote undirected proxies in favor of the resolution to the extent permitted, and will vote directed proxies in accordance with the instructions given by the shareholder.
There are also voting restrictions for some resolutions as outlined in the notice of meeting, which apply to those that have an interest in the resolutions and are uncertain of their related parties or associates. I remind you that the online polls are now open for voting. Online voting will close five minutes after the conclusion of the AGM. Daniel Reid of MUFG Corporate Markets will act as returning officer. Item one, I will now table the 2025 annual financial report and the reports of the directors and auditors for the year ending 30 June 2025 for the meeting to consider. There is no formal resolution to put to shareholders on this item, but there is and will be an opportunity to ask questions on the matters contained within the reports, as well as the business and the operations of REA.
I will now turn to any online questions received during the course of today's meeting. Erin?
We have not received any questions relating to this item of business.
As there are no questions, I will now move to item two. The first resolution today concerns the adoption of the remuneration report, which is set out in the company's 2025 annual report. I remind you that the vote on this item is advisory only, and we will consider and take into account the vote and feedback from shareholders on the remuneration report. The board recommends that shareholders vote in favor of the resolution as set out on the screen. I note that the proxy and direct votes received prior to the meeting in respect of this item of business are set out on the screen. I will now turn to any online questions received during the course of today's meeting. Erin?
Chairman, we have not received any questions relating to this item of business.
As there are no questions, we will proceed to the vote on resolution two. Would you please now vote using the voting card on the online portal? I'll now move to item three A. Item three A relates to the reelection of Kelly Bayer Rosmarin. Ms. Rosmarin was appointed as a Non-Executive Director of the company in January 2022. She retires by rotation and, being eligible, is today standing for reelection as a Director. Ms. Bayer Rosmarin's details are set out in the notice of meeting. The Board, other than Ms. Bayer Rosmarin, unanimously supports her reelection and recommends that shareholders vote in favor of this resolution as set out on the screen. I will now hear from Ms. Rosmarin through a short address. Kelly?
Thank you, Hamish, and good morning, everyone. It has been an honor to serve you as an Independent Non-Executive Director since January 2022. Over the past four years, I've been privileged to work with our exceptional management team and fellow directors in positioning REA Group as Australia's leading property platform, while ensuring robust governance and risk management practices that protect shareholder value. I have more than two decades of experience building businesses and driving technology innovation across financial services, telecommunications, and the tech sector, as well as extensive board and advisory experience across a wide range of sectors, including government, not-for-profit, and fintech. This diverse experience has given me unique insights into digital transformation, regulatory compliance, and crisis management, all important capabilities as REA Group continues to navigate the evolving digital property landscape.
I am passionate about the group, proud of its history, and excited about the tremendous opportunities in its future. With your support, I am committed to leveraging all of my experience and learnings to continue contributing to REA Group's ongoing success. Thank you for your consideration. As a fellow director, I respectfully seek your support for my reelection.
Thank you, Kelly. I move that Kelly Bayer Rosmarin be reelected as the Director of the company. I note that the proxy and direct votes received prior to the meeting in respect of this item of business are set out on the screen. I will now turn to any online questions received during the course of today's meeting. Erin?
Thank you, Chairman. We've received a question from Stephen Mayne. Why is Kelly running again for our board when she has just been appointed CEO of 185-year-old mutual Australian Unity and has joined the board of the AUD 10 billion fintech Airwallex? Surely this is all too much. Also, did she consider the optics of cooperating with a positive profile interview in The Australian newspaper yesterday when she is meant to be an independent REA director, not someone relying on our controlling shareholders' media empire for reputation management after the various Optus controversies?
We evaluate all of our directors based on their contribution to the business and the Board and their availability. Kelly has made an exceptional contribution to the company, and we really value everything that she delivers for us. In all of her career and her recent experiences, we draw upon those learnings and not only support her for this reelection, but think that her contributions are absolutely terrific.
Chairman, there are no further questions relating to this item of business.
Thank you. As there are no further questions, we will proceed to the vote on resolution three A. Would you please now vote using the vote card on the online portal? I will now move to item three B. Item three B relates to the reelection of Michael Miller. Mr. Miller was appointed as a Non-Executive Director of the company in November 2015. He retires by rotation and, being eligible, is today standing for reelection as a Director. Mr. Miller's details are set out in the notice of meeting. The Board, other than Mr. Miller, unanimously supports his reelection and recommends that shareholders vote in favor of this resolution as set out on the screen. We will now hear from Mr. Miller through a short address. Michael?
Thanks, Chair. I'm a homeowner. I'm a regular consumer and user of property data and listings information, and I regularly engage with business leaders across the real estate and lending industries. I joined the board of REA Group a decade ago. Over the last 30 years, I've had experience in broadcasting, radio, publishing media, as well as being professionally involved in digital businesses such as e-commerce, leads, data, marketplaces, and branded content on almost a daily basis. I'm particularly proud of how REA Group and News Australia collaborate together to ensure that all REA shareholders continue to receive value from the work they have undertaken together. I do believe it is a noticeable point of difference in the market, and I'm committed to ensuring that that positive momentum continues both fiscally and through important social initiatives such as the recently launched REA program, A Home For All .
Thank you, Chair.
Thank you, Michael. I move that Michael Miller be reelected as Director of the company. I note that the proxy and the direct votes received prior to the meeting in respect of this item of business are set out on the screen. I will now turn to any online questions received during the course of today's meeting. Erin?
Chairman, we have not received any questions relating to this item of business.
Thank you. We will now proceed to the vote on resolution three B. Would you please now vote using the voting card on the online portal? I will now move to item three C. Item three C relates to the reelection of Tracey Fellows. Ms. Fellows was appointed as a Director of the company in August 2014. She retires by rotation and, being eligible, is today standing for reelection as a Director. Ms. Fellows' details are set out in the notice of meeting. The Board, other than Ms. Fellows, unanimously supports her reelection and recommends that shareholders vote in favor of this resolution as set out on the screen. We will now hear from Tracey through a short address.
Thank you, Hamish. It's been a great pleasure and honor to have been part of the REA Board, both as a CEO and more recently as a Non-Executive Director. In that time, I've been part of REA's growth and evolution through changing market conditions and, of course, more recently, a change in leadership. My career has been entirely in the tech industry, and I've seen the opportunities and disruptions, both locally and globally, in those roles. Today, I am engaged with several international real estate classified companies and experience firsthand a range of business models, market structures, and I'm able to share this experience constructively to the benefit of REA. The tech landscape is changing, in some ways led by AI, and creating new opportunities for REA. My experience, along with those of my colleagues on the Board, will help navigate these opportunities.
As we look ahead, we welcome Cameron McIntyre to lead REA for our next chapter, and I continue to be extremely passionate about REA and the culture that's been created and look forward to the opportunity to continue to serve our shareholders in growing the business.
Thank you, Tracey. I move that Tracey Fellows be reelected as Director of the company. I note that the proxy and the direct votes received prior to the meeting in respect of this item of business are set out on the screen. I will now turn to any online questions received during the course of today's meeting. Erin?
Chairman, we have not received any questions relating to this item of business.
Thank you. As there are no further questions, we'll proceed to the vote on resolution three C. Would you please now vote using the voting card on the online portal? I will now move to item three D. Item three D relates to the reelection of Richard Freudenstein. Mr. Freudenstein was appointed as a Non-Executive Director of the company in November 2006. He retires by rotation and, being eligible, is today standing for reelection as a Director. Mr. Freudenstein's details are set out in the notice of meeting. The Board, other than Mr. Freudenstein, unanimously supports his reelection and recommends that shareholders vote in favor of this resolution as set out on the screen. We will now hear from Richard through a short address.
Thank you, Hamish. Good morning, everyone. I've had the privilege to serve on the REA Board for many years, including five years as Chairman. During my time on the board, I've seen a lot of changes and watched REA grow from a small entrepreneurial business to an ASX top 25 company. My years on the board give me a great understanding of the business, and I'm even more committed to working with the executive team to continue to expand the business and grow value for shareholders. I believe I have a range of skills to enable me to add value on the board of REA. In particular, I've worked as a CEO of both a large customer-facing subscription business and a fast-growing digital business. I'm currently a board member of Coles Group Ltd and Cochlear Ltd, both top 40 ASX listed businesses, and I am Chair of Appen Ltd.
These roles provide me with insights into a wide range of different business models, as well as a good understanding of corporate governance. I have international experience, having worked in the U.K. for many years and served on boards in Asia. At REA, I currently serve on the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee. I would be honored to be reelected to continue to serve the interests of REA shareholders.
Thank you, Richard. I move that Richard Freudenstein be reelected as Director of the company. I note that the proxy and the direct votes received prior to the meeting in respect of this item of business are set out on the screen. I will now turn to any online questions received during the course of today's meeting. Erin?
Chairman, we have not received any questions relating to this item of business.
Thank you. We will proceed to the vote on resolution three D. Would you please vote using the voting card on the online portal? I will now move to item four. We now move to the resolution concerning the grant of performance rights to the incoming CEO, Cameron McIntyre, under the 2028 REA long-term incentive plan. Details of the proposed grant are set out in the notice of meeting. If the performance rights vest and Mr. McIntyre becomes entitled to the allocated shares under the LTIP, all such shares will be purchased on market by the company and transferred to Mr. McIntyre. Accordingly, the grant of performance rights and allocation of shares on vesting of those performance rights to Mr. McIntyre do not require shareholder approval under ASX Listing Rule 10.14. The board is nevertheless voluntarily seeking shareholder approval in recognition of the importance of shareholder engagement on key remuneration issues.
The number of performance rights that will vest as at 30th of June 2028 will be determined by reference to revenue, earnings per share, and relative total shareholder return performance conditions. In respect of each performance condition, none of the performance rights attached to that condition will vest unless a threshold performance level is achieved. The Non-Executive Directors considers the incoming CEO's remuneration package to be appropriate in all of the circumstances and recommends that shareholders vote in favor of this resolution as set out on the screen. I note that the proxy and the direct votes received prior to the meeting in respect of this item are set out on the screen. I will now turn to any online questions received from you during the course of today's meeting. Erin?
Thank you, Chairman. We've received one question in relation to this item of business from Stephen Mayne. Which of the five main proxy advisors, ACSI, Ownership Matters, Glass Lewis, ISS, and ASA, covered us this year, and did any recommend a vote against any of today's resolutions, including this LTI grant to the new CEO? Did a proxy advisor trigger the 7% protest vote against Kelly's reelection?
Our discussions and our relationship and agreement with the proxy advisors is that our dialogue will remain confidential, and that's what it will be. Are there any other questions?
Chair, there are no further questions on this item of business.
We'll proceed to the vote on resolution four. Would you please now vote using the voting card on the online portal? That concludes the discussion of the items of business. I will now address one written question REA received prior to the AGM. I'll ask Erin to call out the question now, please.
Thank you, Chairman. We have received a question from Mr. Peter Calliriero as follows. What effect does the recent launch of Quiet List and the rise in off-market sales have on REA's business in Sydney and Melbourne?
Owen?
Thanks for the question. The level of off-market sales is very difficult to measure accurately. We've tried to do that over a number of years. Based on our estimates, the percentage of off-market transactions has been very stable over a number of times, and it's always been a feature of the Australian property market. If Quiet List is influencing this sector, we're not seeing any impact on our business at this stage.
Okay. Erin, are there any further questions?
We've received a question from Stephen Mayne. Under Australian law, it is illegal to access a public company share register in order to report on someone's wealth. Yet, when it comes to the AUD 10 trillion of wealth tied up in Australian residential property, REA has access to extraordinary data and monetizes this to great effect. Could CEO Owen Wilson explain who we pay for access to that data and whether he thinks there is a risk we could lose access to some of that data if politicians adopt a privacy position similar to what applies to public company share registers?
Thanks, Stephen. Look, you are right. We do have access to an extraordinary amount of data on properties, and you can see that on our research site, property.com.au. It's the most comprehensive view of properties in the Australian market. We do pay for some of that data. We pay various providers for it, as others do. In terms of private information, we take our privacy obligations very seriously. You'll notice on property.com.au there is no private information disclosed, and we never would. I would note that, as I said in my opening remarks, 4.5 million Australians have claimed their property on realestate.com.au. They want to let us know they own the property. They want that information back to them about their valuation, transactions in their suburbs, etc. We do have that extraordinary level of data, but we take our privacy obligations very seriously.
Thank you, Owen. Erin, any further questions?
We have received three questions from Peter Calliriero, Stuart Reid, and Stephen Mayne in relation to the virtual AGM format to the effect of, why does the company not hold a hybrid AGM meeting open for investors to attend? What is the additional cost, if any, of holding a hybrid meeting as opposed to an online meeting?
With what we've observed over years gone by, the physical turnout of shareholders has been very, very small, and we feel that this offers an efficient way to conduct the meeting, consistent with, you know, many other large ASX top 50 companies. We feel that it's appropriate. It is cheaper, marginally cheaper, but we think that it's efficient. We always have an eye on how we look after our shareholders and do the right thing by them. Erin, are there any further questions?
I have a comment from Peter Calliriero. As a shareholder of REA Group for several years, I would like to wish Owen all the best for his future endeavors. As a long-term shareholder of CAR Group, having met Cameron at several AGMs, I can confirm he is a good choice to take over from Owen as CEO.
Thank you, Peter. We concur with you. If you have not, are there any other questions?
Chairman, there are no further questions.
Thank you. If you have not already cast your vote, can you please do so now? Please ensure you have clicked the submit button on each resolution. The results of this meeting will be announced to the ASX and will be available on our website as soon as possible after the conclusion of today's meeting. A copy of the webcast will also be made available on REA 's website. Thank you to our shareholders for attending and participating in today's meeting. I declare the Annual General Meeting closed. Thank you, everyone.