Inman had a report yesterday said online advertising by Realtors and brokers should continue to grow – just not at quite the same double-digit pace that has been the case in the past.

The study, conducted by Borrell and Associates, found that online advertising spending by the real estate industry grew 20 percent last year, to a total of $9.1 billion. The economic downturn will drag this growth rate down, the study said, and dramatically: the growth rate will slow to 11.3 percent in 2008 and 5.1 percent next year.

In general, the study said real estate-related advertising will get cut back this year, with a projected decline of 2.2 percent. The figure includes ads online, in print, through direct mail and on TV and radio.

There’s no doubt the Internet is becoming an important part of an agent’s promotional strategy. Borrell predicts that by 2013, the Internet will capture 33.1 percent of the projected $35.3 billion spent on real estate advertising, compared to 19.6 percent in 2005.