We’re running short of listings in the $1-million to $2.5-million range, one realtor complains
Bruce Constantineau
Sun
CREDIT: Glenn Baglo, Vancouver Sun HOW TO AVERAGE $1.07 MILLION: These two houses represent the most and least expensive detached houses on the market in West Vancouver, where the average price now tops $1 million. Above: 1661 Marlowe Place, $10.8 million.
CREDIT: Glenn Baglo, Vancouver Sun HOW TO AVERAGE $1.07 MILLION: These two houses represent the most and least expensive detached houses on the market in West Vancouver, where the average price now tops $1 million. Above: 6343 Douglas in Horseshoe Bay, yours for only $469,900.
B.C.’s most expensive neighbourhood became even pricier in October as the average selling price for a detached West Vancouver home topped $1 million for the second straight month.
West Vancouver realtor Malcolm Hasman said a dramatic surge in the sale of high-end luxury waterfront homes in recent months has pushed up the average selling price for all properties.
“Prices have definitely firmed up and, quite frankly, we’re starting to run short of good listings in the $1 million to $2.5 million range,” he said.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reported this week the average selling price of a detached West Vancouver property rose to $1,070,900 on the Multiple Listings Service last month from $1,012,500 in September. The average price in August was $903,900.
The average selling price puts West Vancouver home values in the same bracket as two upscale Toronto neighbourhoods, as the average price of a Rosedale home in September was $1,052,300 while the average North Toronto (Bridal Path) price was $1,127,400.
Vancouver real estate board officials note that average selling price figures can be misleading because the sale of a few expensive properties can skew the numbers upwards. The average price is determined by adding the total value of all home sales and dividing it by the number of transactions that took place.
There were 23 properties sold in West Vancouver last month for more than $1 million.
The board said the price of a typical West Vancouver property last month was $756,600 — an increase of about 17 per cent in the past year.
Hasman, a leading West Vancouver realtor with Angell Hasman & Associates, said 2003 will be his busiest year ever, as he has already sold 45 properties for more than $1 million.
“This afternoon, I’m with buyers from California who are looking at homes priced up to $3 million,” he said. “On Saturday, I’m with buyers from Michigan who are looking at properties up to $5 million.”
Hasman said anywhere from 30 to 50 per cent of his high-end clients are from outside Canada and a majority of those are from the U.S.
“The big factor these days seems to be buyers from the United States who have children,” he said. “They’re moving here simply for a cleaner, safer, better way of life.”
Re/Max Real Estate Services executive David Andrews said the higher end of the real estate market was slower to respond to the drop in interest rates than the more affordable end of the market.
“But that has changed and the action has moved upwards,” he said. “I think we’re in the start of a fairly long up cycle.”
Hasman said a resurgence in the local mining market has helped West Vancouver home sales because so many area residents are involved in that business. He said record low interest rates can also help high-end buyers.
“You’d think that people buying a $2-million or $3-million house wouldn’t worry about interest rates, but I know that people are taking advantage of them,” he said. “If you can borrow $1 million for about $5,000 a month, why not do it and keep your money in your own personal investments?”
The cheapest detached home currently for sale in West Vancouver is a 75-year-old house in Horseshoe Bay with 2,700 square feet of living space, listed at $469,900.
The most expensive home for sale is a two-year-old home in the Canterbury area with six bedrooms, three ensuites and nearly 15,000 square feet of living space on three floors. The property is listed at $10.8 million.
Million-dollar residential properties could soon be coming to blue collar east Vancouver as well because a four-level, 6,600-square-foot home on Cambridge Street is expected to be listed for sale next year for about $1 million, Belair Realty agent Dennis Harland said Tuesday.
“It needs some work, like painting and trim work, before it gets listed but it has four suites in it and it may eventually [fetch that price,]” he said. “I’m not aware of anything else in east Vancouver that has sold in that range.”
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