For its location and views, it’s not suprising that this Vancouver townhouse beats a lot of single-family homes in price.
These also likely explain why the strata property at 1089 West 7th Avenue didn’t stay long on the market.
As well, the property sold over its listing price, when a buyer picked it up for $2,505,000.
The Fairview Slopes townhouse is located along a storied and unique green space, Choklit Park.
The 0.07-hectare park is associated with the legacy of Purdys chocolates.
“This site was formerly the location of the Purdy’s Chocolate factory, hence the name!”, according to the online parkfinder from the City of Vancouver.
The park is “tucked into a steep slope”, and comprised by a “series of steps and terraces with a beautiful collection of trees and shrubs”.
“Although tiny, the park is expanded with its views to False Creek and downtown,” the city notes.
Purdy’s made chocolates from 1949 until 1982 at what is now Choklit Park. Sold property indicated by red mark.GOOGLE
The Vancouver Heritage Foundation recalls online that Charles Flavelle, owner of Purdys, said that the choklit spelling was suggested by one of the “hippie” carpenter crew that built the park.
“That’s the way a kid would spell it,” Flavelle was reportedly told.
The heritage association reproduced online the plaque recalling the history of the park:
Charles Flavelle of Purdy’s Chocolates created Choklit Park in 1970 on the unused Spruce Street right-of-way at 7th Avenue, using a crew of six hired on an “Opportunities for Youth” grant. The chocolate factory at 1107 W. 7th needed an improved truck-loading facility and the children in the neighbourhood needed an adventure playground. The crew used the right-of-way and all the available space around the factory for the children’s park. Purdy’s made chocolates here from 1949 until 1982.
Purdys Chocolatier moved to Kingsway in East Vancouver, where it continues to make and sell chocolates.
Engels and Volkers Vancouver listed 1089 West 7th Avenue on November 24, 2020, for $2,298,000.
After six days on November 30, the townhouse sold for $2,505,000 or $207,000 over its original asking price.
The transaction was tracked by fisherly.com, an online real-estate information site.
The home features two bedrooms and three baths.
The listing describes it as an “architectural oasis that will capture those in search of privacy, beauty and incredible views”.
The three-level concrete and brick townhouse includes three private decks, including one on the rooftop, which offer “panoramic city views”.
“Large master retreat includes rare solarium, perfect art studio/office/shop + custom closets,” the listing adds.
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.
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.
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.
