Lucky number $888,888 price tag targets Chinese home buyers in Victoria

In Victoria, B.C. it's all about the 'eights' — and it has everything to do with the city's red hot real estate scene.  

A house in the city's Fairfield neighbourhood has hit the market with a price tag of $888,888, a not-so-subtle attempt to lure potential Chinese buyers. 

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In Chinese culture the number eight is considered the luckiest number of all, and an indication of prosperity. 

"With many of the Vancouver people coming in it seems like the sellers especially are interested in doing whatever they can to attract all types of buyers," said ReMax realtor Daniel Clover. "Eight is a happy number for Chinese culture."

The number eight has been a factor in Vancouver real estate for years, not only in pricing but in property addresses as well.

In a 2012 study titled Superstition in the Housing Market, UBC economics professor Nicole Fortin calculated that addresses in Vancouver that ended in the number eight sold at a 2.5 per cent premium.

And as Vancouver real estate trends ripple out to places like Victoria, the technique of using the number eight to market property is bound to gain in popularity.

Clover says the $888,888 price tag on the Bushby Street house in Victoria is evidence of the power of eight in local real estate.

"We had 105 people through on our open house Saturday," he said. "We had 65 through on Sunday,"

Real estate sales in Victoria registered all-time highs in April.

Next month the province will start keeping track of the citizenship of home buyers for the first time since 1998.

With files from Richard Zussman