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In 1984, the Directors of the Edmonton Real Estate Board (EREB) explored the notion of buying or starting a "Board-owned" newspaper. Because of high advertising costs in the area, this was considered a sound idea and negotiations to purchase the Real Estate Weekly from the Bargain Finder commenced. The deal was finalized by yearend.
At that time, the Weekly had a circulation of around 4,000 per week. From conception, the paper had not been considered successful. However, the EREB Directors were confident that as a "Realtor-owned" publication operating out of board premises, the Real Estate Weekly could become successful. Besides offering the general public the opportunity to see what property was on the market, the paper would also enable the EREB to promote the real estate industry as a whole.
Over the years that followed, the Real Estate Weekly showed steady growth in both readership and EREB member advertising placement.
In 1990, the "crossroads" loomed. Desktop publishing was fast becoming the forefront that would replace conventional typesetting and paste-up methods. During the first quarter of '90, investigations on the ramifications of moving to a desktop system along with the costs involved, took place. The objectives were as follows:
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Replace the unreliable and aging Compugraphic equipment in use at the time;
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Purchase a modular expandable system that would resist becoming outdated and allow growth in the future;
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Purchase a system that would allow for the addition of an imaging system;
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Increase productivity within the Department thus negating the necessity for more people; and
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Increase product quality.
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After researching products from IBM®, Xerox® and Macintosh® as well as other clone brands, a Macintosh based system was chosen with Varityper output. Four stations were originally implemented with a 600 DPI laser printer. Quark Express was the main lay out software. After installation, the resulting increase in both productivity and quality meant that there was no looking back. Since then the Macintosh® system has been constantly up graded. An imaging system was added and digital photography implemented for everything from house photos to editorial and front page pictures. As demand grew, more and more process colour advertising positions were offered. To handle this added volume the Real Estate Weekly was electronically down loaded to our printer, the Edmonton Sun, thus cutting out yet another step.
Distribution problems that arose because of a strike at one of our major outlets and other factors, resulted in an investigation of various methods of distributing the Real Estate Weekly. A decision was made to increase circulation from about 26,000 to 60,000 per week by inserting in the Edmonton Sun. A six month test period was arranged to check the concept from both the Sun and Real Estate Weekly perspectives. Real Estate Weeklies were inserted in all city and immediate outlying area home delivered papers and some news stands selling Edmonton Suns, for a total of 45,000. High traffic food stores, banks and real estate offices received the remaining 15,000. This distribution system, with a few modifications over the years, remains in effect today.
The Real Estate Weekly has not only become known as "The Real Estate Voice" in the Edmonton area but also as one of the best real estate publications in Canada. To further enhance this reputation and image and to let the whole world know what a great place the Edmonton area is to live, the Real Estate Weekly is pleased to present this web site. Look around come back often, because the properties move quickly. Check out the area's good life in the editorial section and the prices of the listings and you will soon see why the Edmonton area is the best place in Canada to call home.
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