In the hottest real estate market Greater Victoria has ever seen, many potential buyers are coming up with increasingly creative ways to snap up their dream home.

Caitlin and Jared Boudreau said they had trouble breaking into the market after moving from Vancouver, being out-bid on the first home they went after.

“It is pretty intense. We thought we’d just coast in there, everything would be smooth sailing and no problems, and we actually realized the market was rapidly picking up,” she said. “We were a little bit nervous.”

So their realtor said it was time to think outside of the box.

He helped the pair craft a personalized letter with information about them and their children, complete with a picture, for their seller.

“It felt a bit like a job application, to be honest…it’s something we never thought we’d have to do to buy a home,” said Boudreau.

But it paid off. They submitted a bid on a home in Fairfield, sent the letter and photo, and soon found out their offer was accepted.

Their realtor Charlie DePape said the strategy is part of a broader trend spreading through the Capital Region as bidding wars ramp up.

“Some sellers are only concerned with the price and the terms, but I think the majority of people want to feel good about who’s buying their home because it’s not just a commodity,” he said.

“It’s somebody’s home, and there’s an emotional attachment. So I always try to humanize my buyers and let the sellers know who’s buying their home, and I find it just brings people together.”

It’s just one of many tactics buyers are trying to set themselves apart in hot housing markets across the country.

One crafty family in Toronto actually printed postcards with a happy picture of themselves and placed them in the mailboxes of an entire neighbourhood they wanted to live in.

Closer to home in Victoria, realtors say letters, pictures and even baked goods are being dished out to curry favour – and get the sales.

Real estate sales in the city jumped by 42 per cent in May over the same month in 2015, and the benchmark price for a home in the region hit $700,000.