The age of real estate tourism is upon us - and it landed, quite literally, in Richmond on the weekend.
The city's housing market is well known as a hot spot for Asian investors, but their fervour for Richmond reached another level on Friday.
Less than 24 hours after stepping off a flight from mainland China, 19 potential property investors were rounded up onto a bus and driven, as part of a bonafide tour, to the local Remax office, where they were welcomed by realtor Steve Latham.
And after a short "welcome to Richmond" video presentation, Latham, with the help of a translator, acted as their guide for the day on the bus.
Latham took the group to see a total of five luxury properties in Richmond and Point Grey, all of which were valued between $2.5 million and $3 million.
"It was pretty successful and they were all very anxious to get out there and look at houses," Latham said.
"They flew in on Thursday to stay at the River Rock and as well as looking at houses, they had a look round Richmond secondary."
A Chinese-based tour operator pulled the visit together, said Latham.
"It's kind of a new idea. We met with someone from immigration - who these people deal with when they come over - and we began to talk about this and it kind of came from there," he added. "All (of the homes) were more than 2,500 square feet and less than five years old."
