While we normally see a seasonal drop in visits to the Hitwise Business & Finance – Real Estate Category (which contains 982 sites and comprised 0.45% Internet visits for the week ending 10/1/05)starting in mid-summer, visits to the category took an unprecedented hit the last week of August leading into September.
Hypothesis: Hurricane Katrina and its effect on the economy has caused a rapid decline in real estate interest.
The chart below shows market share of visits to the Real Estate category and search volume on the term “katrina”

Have any thoughts on other interesting charts? Drop me a line. I look forward to your ideas.