Whether you’re looking to purchase property in Victoria or are an aspiring REALTOR®, you should get to know the Victoria Real Estate Board.
Simply referred to as VREB, this Board oversees real estate in the communities of Greater Victoria and the Southern Gulf Islands. Since 1921, VREB has helped establish standards and innovative programs aimed at enhancing the professionalism and community standards of REALTORS®.
As advertised on their website, the Victoria Real Estate Board’s mission is to make good REALTORS® better. House-hunting shouldn’t feel like hell for potential homebuyers, so by setting up proper channels for agents and owners, they’ve made the process painless.
Let’s look at some of the services the VREB website provides.
Buying and Selling
After visiting the Victoria Real Estate Board website, you’ll quickly see what a powerful tool it can be for first-time home buyers and those looking to sell.
Not only will it allow you to connect with local REALTORS®, but using their search functions, you can find out everything you’ll need to know about Victoria real estate. Browse open houses by area, look up listings in a map or list format, and even create comprehensive driving routes so you can take a tour from open house to open house.
The VREB website really is a homebuyers best friend and we here at Pemberton Holmes encourage you to take a look. In fact, the website comes equipped with buying and selling resources that will help you along the way. If you’re looking to become more savvy when it comes to real estate, this is the place to be.
To give you a hint of what you should expect, here are a few example articles:
Tips for First-Time Home Buyers
Creating Curb Appeal Can Help Sell Your Home
MLS®
But these articles aren’t the only thing VREB can offer up as an online resource. As a matter of fact, their MLS® Statistics (Multiple Listing Service® System) are a huge reason it is so valuable.
Most properties sold in Greater Victoria and the Southern Gulf Islands are recorded and sold via the VREB MLS®. As a result, everything involved with these transactions are kept track of and used to create statistical analysis of the Victoria real estate market at large. Releasing statistics on a monthly basis, as well as providing historical data, REALTORS® can use this information to help buyers and sellers understand local trends.
For REALTORS®
Like other real estate Boards located across British Columbia (VREB is one of eleven), The Victoria Real Estate Board is essentially a membership group for real estate agents who belong to the Canadian Real Estate Association.
Many people often confuse real estate agents and REALTORS® as being one in the same, but the difference is their belonging to Boards such as these.
Although both are trained excessively to obtain these positions, REALTORS® are allowed the benefits provided by VREB.
Conclusion
By now, you should have a better understanding of what VREB is and how it can help you as a prospective homeowner. Alternatively, if you’re looking to become a REALTOR®, now you know where to start.
Pemberton Holmes is a proud brokerage associated with the Victoria Real Estate Board. If you are interested in certified help, contact us today.
