Realtor.com® and Vivid Seats Bracket Predicts Fourth Seed U.C. Berkeley to Take Home Real Estate Tournament Title

Selections based on basketball ticket sales and strength of local housing markets

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Mar 16, 2016, 09:00 ET

SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- U.C. Berkeley will emerge as the champion of the real estate version of the 2016 March Madness® college basketball tournament, according to the realtor.com® and Vivid Seats housing market bracket released today which narrowed the final four field to – U.C. Berkeley, Iowa State, the University of Texas and the University of Michigan.

The collaborative effort leveraged Vivid Seats' – the largest independent ticket marketplace for live sports, concert, and theater events – sales information to identify the ZIP code representing the largest number of ticket sales for each team. Realtor.com®, a leading online real estate destination operated by News Corp [NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA]; [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] subsidiary Move, Inc., then made its picks using the hotness of each ZIP code's housing market as measured by speed of inventory movement and realtor.com® page views between November 2015 and February 2016.

Based on the analysis, U.C. Berkeley, which has the most ticket-buying fans in 94526 (Danville, Calif.), wins the tournament hands down thanks to its California Bay Area real estate dynamics. Other ZIP codes that made it to the real estate version of the Final Four® include Iowa State's most popular ticket market 50010 (Ames, Iowa); the University of Texas's 78613 (Cedar Park, Texas); and the University of Michigan's 48103 (Ann Arbor, Mich.).

"Our analysis shows that ZIP codes with the highest number of college basketball ticket sales are also ballers when it comes to real estate," said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for realtor.com®. "But you can only have one winner in The Big Dance®, and Danville's strong housing market, strong economy and favorable demographics helped it take down the net this year."

When it comes to residential listings, Danville is hot on and off the court receiving 62 percent more listing views than its surrounding San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif. Metro, which is the hottest market in the country. Its strong housing game is primarily driven by robust median household income of almost $120,000 and low unemployment associated with being in one of the strongest job markets in the country. Not to mention that homes in this market have some serious hops – selling 41 days more quickly than the typical listing in the US. While no one could touch Danville, the other markets that made it to the real estate version of the Final Four® -- Ames (50010); Cedar Park (78613) and Ann Arbor (48103) -- also brought the housing heat to the tournament with properties moving 40, 41, and 18 days more quickly than the US median age.

"The NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament is an exciting time to be a fan in any location, and the teams and fans who are a part of this year's tournament have many reasons to celebrate. We were happy to work with realtor.com® this year to give them yet another reason to celebrate: bragging rights to the hottest locations among zip codes that buy the most tickets," added Vivid Seats.

The research showed the ZIP codes that purchase the most college basketball tickets per team are typically more affluent suburbs located in close proximity to the college or university. But you won't find a lot of college students in these specific towns; all 68 teams included in the bracket not only have hotter than usual housing markets, their share of households making more than $100,000 is 30 percent higher than their surrounding metro and their unemployment rates are 16 percent lower.

See the table below* and attached bracket* to see how all 68 teams stack up in the tournament. Real estate bracket was determined ahead of play-in games. Data reflects the time period from between November 2015 and February 2016.

Team	ZIP code	Name of ZIP Code	ZIP code Hotness Index	How quickly homes sell in ZIP code	ZIP code home views vs. metro
Southern Conference
Kansas Jayhawks	66062	Olathe, KS	0.880	70 days	134%
Villanova Wildcats	19426	Collegeville, PA	0.671	109 days	126%
Miami Hurricanes	33156	Miami, FL	0.644	95 days	110%
California Golden Bears	94526	Danville, CA	0.983	44 days	143%
Maryland Terrapins	21784	Sykesville, MD	0.757	80 days	120%
Arizona Wildcats	85718	Tucson, AZ	0.624	74 days	96%
Iowa Hawkeyes	52302	Marion, IA	0.509	83 days	68%
Colorado Buffaloes	80302	Boulder, CO	0.843	77 days	124%
UConn Huskies	06010	Bristol, CT	0.624	93 days	65%
Temple Owls	19046	Jenkintown, PA	0.730	99 days	141%
Vanderbilt Commodores	37027	Brentwood, TN	0.907	57 days	107%
Wichita State Shockers	67205	Wichita, KS	0.738	86 days	86%
South Dakota State Jackrabbits	57105	Sioux Falls, SD	0.917	42 days	129%
Hawaii Rainbow Warriors	96814	Honolulu, HI	0.356	81 days	28%
Buffalo Bulls	14214	Buffalo, NY	0.927	60 days	171%
UNC Asheville Bulldogs	28806	Asheville, NC	0.931	57 days	153%
Austin Peay Governors	37043	Clarksville, TN	0.497	83 days	96%
Eastern Conference
North Carolina Tar Heels	27516	Chapel Hill, NC	0.606	103 days	70%
Xavier Musketeers	45140	Loveland, OH	0.793	68 days	122%
West Virginia Mountaineers	26554	Fairmont, WV	0.530	108 days	88%
Kentucky Wildcats	42301	Owensboro, KY	0.654	75 days	89%
Indiana Hoosiers	47630	Newburgh, IN	0.747	88 days	127%
Notre Dame Fighting Irish	46530	Granger, IN	0.766	93 days	210%
Wisconsin Badgers	53711	Madison, WI	0.663	91 days	98%
USC Trojans	91361	Westlake Village, CA	0.823	78 days	95%
Providence College Friars	02906	Providence, RI	0.701	85 days	99%
Pittsburgh Panthers	15601	Greensburg, PA	0.543	127 days	88%
Michigan Wolverines	48103	Ann Arbor, MI	0.860	73 days	90%
Tulsa Golden Hurricane	66604	Topeka, KS	0.569	86 days	72%
Chattanooga Mocs	37415	Chattanooga, TN	0.827	69 days	120%
Stony Brook Seawolves	11705	Bayport, NY	0.311	123 days	60%
Stephen F Austin Lumberjacks	75964	Nacogdoches, TX	0.521	104 days	82%
Weber State Wildcats	84405	Ogden, UT	0.664	59 days	83%
Fairleigh Dickinson Knights	07607	Maywood, NJ	0.712	73 days	111%
Florida Gulf Coast Eagles	33967	Fort Myers, FL	0.840	57 days	120%
Western Conference
Oregon Ducks	97405	Eugene, OR	0.770	80 days	114%
Oklahoma Sooners	73071	Norman, OK	0.567	77 days	49%
Texas A&M Aggies	77845	College Station, TX	0.749	77 days	88%
Duke Blue Devils	27704	Durham, NC	0.798	77 days	92%
Baylor Bears	76708	Waco, TX	0.821	85 days	87%
Texas Longhorns	78613	Cedar Park, TX	0.933	54 days	119%
Oregon State Beavers	97827	Elgin, OR	0.096	161 days	53%
Saint Joseph's Hawks	19460	Phoenixville, PA	0.768	91 days	143%
Cincinnati Bearcats	45140	Loveland, OH	0.793	68 days	122%
VCU Rams	23112	Midlothian, VA	0.807	63 days	93%
Northern Iowa Panthers	50613	Cedar Falls, IA	0.749	80 days	129%
Yale Bulldogs	08053	Marlton, NJ	0.760	89 days	113%
UNC Wilmington Seahawks	28412	Wilmington, NC	0.644	95 days	99%
WI-Green Bay Phoenix	54304	Green Bay, WI	0.773	71 days	102%
Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners	93309	Bakersfield, CA	0.810	47 days	100%
Holy Cross Crusaders	18018	Bethlehem, PA	0.686	78 days	112%
Southern Jaguars	70817	Baton Rouge, LA	0.799	79 days	109%
Midwestern Conference
Virginia Cavaliers	22901	Charlottesville, VA	0.438	116 days	109%
Michigan State Spartans	48842	Holt, MI	0.695	83 days	80%
Utah Utes	84037	Kaysville, UT	0.568	82 days	87%
Iowa State Cyclones	50010	Ames, IA	0.942	55 days	141%
Purdue Boilermakers	47906	West Lafayette, IN	0.762	83 days	96%
Seton Hall Pirates	07090	Westfield, NJ	0.874	69 days	238%
Dayton Flyers	45066	Springboro, OH	0.708	85 days	125%
Texas Tech Red Raiders	79424	Lubbock, TX	0.802	64 days	88%
Butler Bulldogs	46032	Carmel, IN	0.697	98 days	147%
Syracuse Orange	13090	Liverpool, NY	0.798	76 days	135%
Gonzaga Bulldogs	99212	Spokane, WA	0.827	66 days	107%
UALR Trojans	72211	Little Rock, AR	0.815	59 days	116%
Iona Gaels	10801	New Rochelle, NY	0.585	100 days	119%
Fresno State Bulldogs	93610	Chowchilla, CA	0.535	79 days	69%
Middle Tennessee State University Blue Raiders	37129	Murfreesboro, TN	0.905	46 days	87%
Hampton Pirates	23666	Hampton, VA	0.433	80 days	68%

About Move, Inc. and realtor.com®

Move, Inc. operates the realtor.com® website and mobile experiences, which provide buyers, sellers and renters of homes with the information, tools and professional expertise they need to discover and create their perfect home. News Corp [NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA]; [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] acquired Move in November 2014, and realtor.com® quickly established itself as the fastest growing online real estate service provider as measured by comScore.

As the official website of the National Association of REALTORS®, consumers know they can look to realtor.com® for the most comprehensive and accurate information anytime, anywhere. With relationships with nearly 800 multiple listing services (MLS), realtor.com® has more than 3 million for-sale listings, which account for more than 97 percent of all MLS-listed for-sale properties. More than 90 percent of the listings are updated every 15 minutes. Move's network of websites provides consumers a wealth of innovative tools, including Doorsteps®, Moving.com™, SeniorHousingNet^SM and others. Move supports real estate professionals by providing many services to grow their businesses in an increasing digital, on-demand world, including ListHub™, the nation's leading listing syndicator and centralized intelligence platform for the real estate industry; TigerLead®; Top Producer® Systems; and FiveStreet^SM and Reesio as well as many free services.

About Vivid Seats

Vivid Seats is the largest independent marketplace for tickets to live sports, concert, and theater events. Founded in 2001, the Chicago-based company offers industry-leading affordability across one of the widest selections of premium tickets and event packages. Vivid Seats supports all orders with a comprehensive buyer guarantee and an in house customer service team to ensure the safest and most convenient purchase experience. Fans that want to sit closer and see more of their favorite live events can order directly on VividSeats.com or by phone at 866.848.8499.

Forward-Looking Statements

This document contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's views and assumptions regarding future events and business performance as of the time the statements are made. Actual results may differ materially from these expectations due to changes in global economic, business, competitive market and regulatory and other factors. More detailed information about these and other factors that could affect future results is contained in News Corp's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The "forward-looking statements" included in this document are made only as of the date of this document and we do not have any obligation to publicly update any "forward-looking statements" to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law.

March Madness®, Final Four®, and The Big Dance® are registered trademarks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners and are used with their permission. All rights reserved.

Media Contact: Lexie Puckett Holbert, realtor.com, 805-557-3151

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SOURCE realtor.com