Columbia Board of REALTORS® Weblog

We received notice last week that as of the end of February, The Missourian will stop the free distribution of the Board’s publication, Real Estate This Week (RETW).  It comes as no surprise that the University is making as many budget cuts as possible..but I thought that your advertising dollars played a significant role in keeping the paper going.  I don’t understand how cutting out the majority of your income and still printing the paper is going to save the University a lot.  My Cost Accounting is a little rusty but isn’t the principal to have income to absorb overhead costs?  I understand that the labor to distribute the free copies was expensive as was the newsprint.  Oh well….

What will REALTORS in Columbia lose by no more Real Estate This Week?

First of all, for you, it was a relatively low-cost way to advertise your listings.  Recent improvements in the quality of printing and the professional layout were visually pleasing.  Most of the existing print options are going to be more expensive.  Many of you had decided not to advertise in The Missourian but just having it in existance made for competitive rates.

Members and Affiliates were the only companies allowed to advertise in our publication.  This was a benefit of being an Affiliate.  Without the vehicle of RETW, we lose the “benefit of belonging”.

·        Will lose incentive to join as Affiliate

·        Will lose benefit of advertising for outlying potential members “Spotlight on Boonville”…”Join and you can advertise in the Columbia paper”

And last but not least, the Board had a vehicle for free advertising of Board issues – like our awards, announcements etc. 

We’re working on alternatives and accepting proposals from existing advertising vehicles.  Sean Moore at RE/MAX, techie extrodinnaire, has been asked to look at developing some online alternatives.  I’ll let you know when we have more developed ideas.

Speaking of online…I’ve been concerned for a long time that finding a complete list of all of the Open Houses on a given date was difficult.  Couple that with those of us that are directionally challenged and you get overlooked and missed opportunities for you.  And some of you, dare I say it, aren’t the best at writing directions.  I’ll never forget when I first got here driving to an Open House on Sabine Drive.  The directions were “Go sounth on Providence. Turn Right on Sabine”.  I thought surely I had missed a turn somewhere.  A good map would have helped (Thank you Linda Robb for the big green one).

While I’m on my soapbox, this business of changing street names when a road takes a turn is silly.  Somebody was inhaling when they came up with that idea.  It does not make finding houses very easy.  Two doors down from my house, on the same visual street, is the same house number as mine.  It looks like its the same street but at one end it has one name and at the other, another.  We constantly have to sort out our mail with the people in the other house.  Go figure.

If you have any advertising suggestions or would like to volunteer to be on a taskforce regarding our options, just let me know.

CVG