Wealthy people wanting to get away from crowded cities to escape COVID-19 have options other than retreating to their lakeside cottages and country homes.
“An island would be a good place to ride out this pandemic,” realtor Adam Major told the Straight.
Major is the managing broker of Holywell Properties, a realty agency that also owns and operates real-estate information site Zealty.ca.
Major noted that owning a private island has always appealed to people.
“Who doesn’t want to own a private island?” Major asked.
With the raging COVID-19 pandemic, Major believes that the allure of having a private island has increased.
However, this is not for everyone.
“If you live on an isalnd, the cost to maintain it is probably more,” Major said.
One has to get everything to the island by boat, from food to fuel and other supplies.
“It’s not as cheap as it sounds, but definitely it has appeal right now,” Major said.
Major and Holywell Properties realty agent Gary Little provided a sample of five private islands for sale.
Below are the marketing blurbs by realty agencies for these properties:
1 Lamb Islats
“Welcome to your very own Private 1 Acre Island just 2hrs from Downtown Vancouver! This Private Island is 500ft off shore (accessible by private boat – included) and offers 2 homes. The main house is an extremely open concept West Coast Contemporary home totaling 2,365SqFt with 3 Beds / 2 Baths & 2,280SqFt of patio with manicured gardens, seating areas, dining areas & large hot-tub with view. The second home is a 724SqFt Loft offering 2 Beds / 1 Bath & 220SqFt of patio including its own hot-tub & mountain views. These homes are positioned on either side of the Island for maximum privacy. Deep water moorage & 40Ft X 14Ft dock. Local fishing, crabbing, prawning & clamming provide you all the West Coast has to offer!”
Malei Island
Royal LePage Advance Realty’s listing price for Malei Island in the Queen Charlotte Strait amounts to $875,000.
“45 acre tastefully developed private island in Queen Charlotte Strait. Malei Island is nicely nestled in Cascade Harbour on the NW shore of Nigei Island. It is entirely in its natural state with the exception of a small footprint to accommodate the residence and a suspended boardwalk which meanders through the forest from the eastern shoreline through to the west end of the island. The 2800sqft 2 story home has four bedrooms and two bathrooms. The 1500sqft main level incorporates an open concept plan featuring the living room and spacious, well-appointed kitchen with propane cookstove. There is a vaulted ceiling in the living room with a wood-burning stove and access to the expansive oceanside deck. Also on the main floor is one bedroom and a full bathroom. A mudroom / laundry room combination houses the on-demand hot water pressure tank and ultraviolet water filtration system as well as the stacking washer and dryer plus 2 showers. The electrical/mechanical room houses a bank of 12 batteries with a trace engineered inverter system, analytic systems/voltage converter, emergency back-up lighting and electrical panels. The 1300sqft upper level features three spacious bedrooms that all have large skylights on the pitched ceilings providing natural light and beautiful ocean views. There are a series of smaller rooms across the back of the home for storage and/or additional sleeping quarters. There is a washroom on the upper level. Underneath the house there is easy access for storage, building supplies, equipment and a side-by-side ATV. Domestic water is by way of rainwater collection to a series of large tanks underneath the front deck. Power is an integrated system of generator coupled with two wind turbines. The power is then stored in a bank of batteries then converted through the inverter system for full 110v power. Between the home and the oceanfront there is a helipad as well as a stone and mason wood-fired hot tub and cold pool built into the natural rock.”
O Burts Island
RE/MAX of Nanaimo – Dave Koszegi Group represents the seller of O Burts Island in the Alberni Valley worth $495,000.
“The most affordable private island on the real west coast. Never been touched this island hold onto old growth hemlock and red cedar trees that back out onto the islands natural beaches. The island itself is generally level which make for good building sites and it is sheltered from the rugged waters by the neighboring Burlo island which make this an attractive option. Bamfield itself is home to world class recreation with, kayaking, fishing and hiking all at your doorstep. Home of the famous West Coast Trail, Bamfield Marine Science Center and the Music by the Sea festival there is no shortage of things to do in this quant little town. A legacy property like this is truly one of a kind.”
LT 81 Leech Island
Sutton Group-West Coast Realty (Dunc) listed LT 81 Leech Island in the Cowichan Valley for $1,279,000.
“Own your own island and live off the grid! Just a few short minutes boat ride from Sunrise Point Road on Thetis Island you land on your own island of 3.37 acres with dock, 2 bedroom home, sleeping loft/boat house, community water from Thetis island, recently installed, advanced solar power system with generator backup. Fruit trees and garden areas. Amazing views from almost anywhere on this private island, looking south over to Clam Bay spit, Hall, Secretarys and Reid Islands. Great fishing and pawning nearby.”
Saturnina Island
Royal LePage Nanaimo Realty Gabriola listed Saturnina Island in Nanaimo for $1,495,000.
“A True Legacy Property. Your own private island awaits you. 10 gorgeous and tranquil acres with a foreshore lease in place where you may be able to place your own private moorage! Situated next to the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club on Tugboat Island, you will find this unique gem of a property. A large soft pebbled beach within a protected bay provides opportunity for swimming, kayaking and float plane access. Boundless development potential awaits. Majestic views across the Strait are enjoyed and year round access is attainable by means of ferry service to Gabriola Island, or a brief 15 minute Seaplane flight service from Vancouver’s YVR South terminal. Claim your own piece of paradise with stunning Saturnina Island. Verify all data and measurement if deemed important. City:Saturnina Island”
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.
