Dan
The answer regarding my area is yes,the booklets,brochures and even newspaper layouts are thinner.I am in Suffolk county New York.I would concur with the reasoning that Pam and Ute gave .

Dan....

I believe the print magazines and newspapers are being used less and less by our Realtors today as they are proving to be less effective and expensive. Many of the brokerages are channelling their advertising to the internet since 80% of our buyers start there.

I think what you see is related to several factors. First of all, printed advertising has been one of the least effective means of advertising to get a house sold for some time now. Second, real estate agents have reduced their marketing budget due to lower income and the first thing that is eliminated is the least effective and most expensive marketing device. Let's face it, real estate magazines don't really help reduce the inventory. They may be a good way to self-promote, but not to get the listing sold. I used to routinely pick up the real estate magazine at the local supermarket and go through them, but I think I have not picked one up in over a year. Buyers go on the Internet. Lastly, in my market, about 50% of the inventory are either bank owned or short sales. The banks don't advertise in real estate magazines and with only about 10% of short sales making it to closing, spending the money on printed advertising is just not cost effective.