The Point Grey landmark — which is rated Heritage A, Vancouver’s highest ranking — has one of the great views in the city
A large log house at 4686 West 2nd Ave. has been a Point Grey fixture since it was built in 1917.
The property stretches over three lots and boasts some giant trees, creating a park-like vibe. Sitting on the porch feels like being transported to another era.
But being located on three 33-foot lots makes it a prime site for redevelopment. Developers Munish Katyal and Sapna Rani Katyal purchased the property in November 2022 for $8.5 million, a steep drop from the original listing price of $16 million.
“There are three permit applications for single detached homes in progress for 4686 West 2nd Ave.,” said an email from city staff.
“The existing Heritage A building is being reviewed as a part of the permit review process. This building straddles two lots, which creates challenges for retention because it would be difficult to comply with regulations while retaining the building.
“At this time, the demolition permits are pending development permit and building permit approval.”
Some developers may have been scared off because the log house is on Vancouver’s heritage register. It is rated Heritage A, the highest ranking, which means tearing it down will probably require some serious negotiations with the city.
“(The developer) cannot get a demolition permit until he has new development permits in place,” said former Vancouver planner Sandy James.
“Secondly, he has to get a director of planning agreement to demolish the house, and that would have to be for very significant reasons.”
“The normal practice is that the development permit would be knocked up to one of the city’s architects, who can work with the developer to assign the same density that they would have with three lots, but (retain) the house,” she said.
New owner Munish Katyal runs KVA Developments in Surrey. Phone calls to the company were not returned this week.
Heritage expert Don Luxton said allowing a Heritage A building such as this to be torn would send a message to developers.
“In general, the city has had a pretty effective heritage program, given the lack of support of senior levels of government and all those other issues,” he said.
“We know the city is left on its own. But it also has the tools under the Vancouver Charter to negotiate, and it has a lot of power. It always kind of drew the line at A-listed buildings. We never really lost many over the years.
“(But) if it can happen that quickly and that easily on this site, that would send a huge message, that it would be easier to demolish now.”
It may seem unusual that the developers want to build single-family homes on the property, given that under the new density rules introduced by the city and province you could build multiple units on each lot.
But in pricier areas such as Point Grey, single-family homes still bring the most money.
“The truth is, there’s always going to be more money in property that is sold for detached family housing,” said James. “It will always be more expensive, and it will always be more exclusive. That’s shown with this example.”
If the developer is allowed to tear down the heritage home and build three new houses, they got a bargain. The Katyals paid $8.5 million, or $2.83 million per lot.
A search on B.C. Assessment shows that the four houses on 33-foot lots east of the property have an assessed value for the land alone of $4.5 million per lot.
TORONTO – One expert predicts Ottawa‘s changes to mortgage rules will help spur demand among potential homebuyers but says policies aimed at driving new supply are needed to address the “core issues” facing the market.
The federal government’s changes, set to come into force mid-December, include a higher price cap for insured mortgages to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.
The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.
CIBC Capital Markets deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal calls it a “significant” move likely to accelerate the recovery of the housing market, a process already underway as interest rates have begun to fall.
However, he says in a note that policymakers should aim to “prevent that from becoming too much of a good thing” through policies geared toward the supply side.
Tal says the main issue is the lack of supply available to respond to Canada’s rapidly increasing population, particularly in major cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17,2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
OTTAWA – The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold in August fell compared with a year ago as the market remained largely stuck in a holding pattern despite borrowing costs beginning to come down.
The association says the number of homes sold in August fell 2.1 per cent compared with the same month last year.
On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, national home sales edged up 1.3 per cent from July.
CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart says that with forecasts of lower interest rates throughout the rest of this year and into 2025, “it makes sense that prospective buyers might continue to hold off for improved affordability, especially since prices are still well behaved in most of the country.”
The national average sale price for August amounted to $649,100, a 0.1 per cent increase compared with a year earlier.
The number of newly listed properties was up 1.1 per cent month-over-month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
MONTREAL – Two Quebec real estate brokers are facing fines and years-long suspensions for submitting bogus offers on homes to drive up prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christine Girouard has been suspended for 14 years and her business partner, Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin, has been suspended for nine years after Quebec’s authority of real estate brokerage found they used fake bids to get buyers to raise their offers.
Girouard is a well-known broker who previously starred on a Quebec reality show that follows top real estate agents in the province.
She is facing a fine of $50,000, while Dauphinais-Fortin has been fined $10,000.
The two brokers were suspended in May 2023 after La Presse published an article about their practices.
One buyer ended up paying $40,000 more than his initial offer in 2022 after Girouard and Dauphinais-Fortin concocted a second bid on the house he wanted to buy.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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