At first glance, the property at Mosquito Creek Marina looks like a boat, but realtor Doug Taylor says it’s got no motor or steering wheel and is classified as a float home. With so much of the value in Metro Vancouver’s pricey real estate market tied to land, homes on the water are often relatively affordable options.
Another reason this particular dwelling is priced so low is that it’s small, measuring just 336 square feet. That puts the price per square foot at about $818. According to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, the average price per square foot for a condo last month was $937.
Taylor says the boat was renovated by a friend who originally wanted to convert it to an office space, but decided to make it a tiny home instead. A queen bed is tucked into what would have been the boat’s bow, there’s room for a kitchen table with two chairs, a couch, a TV and a small workspace.
“It’s compact, but it’s all there on the main floor,” Taylor says. “It’s kind of like a little condo on the water.”
The rooftop deck has been enclosed so it can be used more often in the rainy climate, and there’s an electrical outlet to plug in a heater, if needed.
It lacks a couple of the features of a more conventional home, the kitchen doesn’t have a stove or oven and the bathroom only has a shower. Storage is available, but limited. There’s no washer or dryer, so laundry would have to be done at the marina’s laundromat.
This photo shows the interior of a boat that has been converted into a float home. (Image credit: teamtaylorrealty.ca)
Taylor also notes that buying the float home does come with some additional costs and a couple of caveats. The owner would have to pay a moorage fee of roughly $1,000 a month, which covers the cost of waste disposal, water and hydro. Taxes of $1,666.40 will also be due for 2023.
The moorage agreement has to be renewed annually, and while Taylor says it has been for the past 50 years – he does note it’s something any would-be owner should be aware of given that it introduces an element of uncertainty. Financing options are also limited, with only two prospective lenders offering a mortgage.
This photo shows the rooftop deck of a float home in North Vancouver. (Image credit: teamtaylorrealty.ca)
Taylor has lived on a float home at the marina for the last decade and he loves it, which helps when selling the lifestyle to others. Sunset views of Vancouver’s skyline, the ocean breeze and daily glimpses of herons, otters and other marine life are some of the perks he points out. But it’s also a short walk to Lonsdale Quay and the SeaBus to downtown.
“It’s very quiet and peaceful. It really feels like you’re at the cottage when you’re in the city,” he says.
Of the roughly 50 people who live there, Taylor says the majority are “boomers” who have downsized, with a few younger people in the mix. Instead of block parties, they have “dock parties.”
“It’s a very laid-back feeling, everybody gets along,” he says.
While there has been some interest in the listing so far, Taylor says no offers have been submitted. All the furniture is included in the price.
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.
