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Metro Vancouver real estate: North Shore’s priciest houses

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Big views. Big properties. Expansive wine cellars, architectural cred and infinity pools dripping down to the waterfront.

Those are just some of the sought-after boxes to be checked among the North Shore’s most luxurious mansions.

This year, 100 of the top 500 assessments in the province are on the North Shore, and over half of them on the waterfront in West Vancouver.

Fifteen of the top 100 assessed properties are in West Vancouver this year, with neighbourhoods like Bellevue Avenue’s “Golden Mile”, Erwin Drive and Radcliffe Avenue, sharing space on the list with homes in Vancouver’s Point Grey Road and Belmont Avenue.

The West Vancouver neighbourhoods of the uber-rich are home to tech entrepreneurs, investment fund managers and people like mining and entertainment executive and philanthropist Frank Giustra, who has hosted former U.S. President Bill Clinton, said West Vancouver real estate agent Calvin Lindberg of Angell Hasmann and Associates.

Homes designed by architectural icon Russell Hollingsworth tend to make the list, as do properties with expansive waterfront views and massive mansions, tennis courts and pools.

“Big homes are a thing of the past,” said Lindberg. “So existing ones will increase in value.”

3330 Radcliffe Ave. West Vancouver. Mike Wakefield, North Shore News

Hollingsworth-designed waterfront mansions top assessment rolls

Most of the top-ranked properties are ones regularly appear on the list.

Topping the list once again is a five-bedroom, six-bathroom mansion on the West Bay waterfront in West Vancouver, custom designed by architect Russell Hollingsworth on a large property at 3330 Radcliffe Ave., valued this year at just under $34.4 million. That’s up about three per cent over last year’s assessment of $33.2 million, but still just shy of the stratospheric value of more than $35 million which the property reached in 2017. It’s lowest value in the past five years was in 2020, when the property was assessed at a mere $26.5 million.

The second-highest assessment was another West Vancouver Hollingsworth-designed Dundarave waterfront mansion. The three-bedroom, seven-bathroom 9,000-square-foot home, on a large property at 2588 Bellevue Ave., was valued at more than $27.8 million this year – down slightly about three per cent from its $28.73 million value last year. That property’s highest value topped out at $30.92 million during the real estate gold rush six years ago and fell as “low” as $21.58 million during the pandemic in 2021.

A Chartwell mansion at 1690 Marlowe Place in the British Properties – another familiar address in the top assessment list – was third highest this year with a value of over $27.05 million, down just slightly from last year’s $27.05 million assessment.

Directly across the street, the neighbouring mansion at 1669 Marlowe Pl. also made the list of highest-assessed properties, coming in at number seven this year, with an assessment of just under $22.8 million.

1669 Marlowe . Mike Wakefield, North Shore News

West Bay neighbourhood sought after

Rounding out the Top 10 highest assessments were similar neighbouring homes in West Bay or similar neighbourhoods, valued at between $22 million and $26 million.

There’s only so much waterfront, Lindberg said, and those with means want their piece of it.

In the No. 4 spot was a $26.2 million home at 3378 Radcliffe Ave. The six-bedroom seven-bathroom modernist masterpiece of over 7,500 square feet was architecturally designed by Lamoureux Architects and Paul Sangha Landscape Architects and built over two former lots in 2014. Its property value shot up almost 50 per cent in one year after it sold for $32.8 million in a private sale.

Number five was another West Bay waterfront mansion. The six-bedroom, nine-bathroom home on a massive lot at 130 Oxley St. was assessed at $24.4 million.

The sixth highest assessment was a five-bedroom, seven-bathroom home of approximately 14,000 square feet that occupies a huge lot on the West Bay waterfront at 3110 Travers Ave, assessed at just under $24 million.

This home at 3350 Radcliffe, was assessed at just under $22.5 million. BC Assessment

A third home on the exclusive Radcliffe Avenue, at 3350 Radcliffe, was the eighth highest assessment, valued at just shy of $22.5 million. The colonial style eight-bedroom 10-bathroom home of approximately 10,000 square feet built on a .62 acre lot in 2002.

This West Vancouver luxury home at 5365 Seaside Place sold for $22.7 million at the end of August 2021. Courtesy of Malcolm Hasman / Angell Hasman & Associates Realty Ltd.

The property ranked number seven on the list of highest assessments was a modern 8,800-square-foot waterfront home at 5365 Seaside Place in Caulfield, assessed at just over $22 million. Situated on a private, gated peninsula and boasting an infinity pool, outdoor spa and boathouse, the four-bedroom, seven-bathroom home was sold for $22.7 million in 2021 by Malcolm Hasman at Angell Hasman & Associates Realty Ltd, which was the highest sale that year.

4343 Erwin Drive West Vancouver . Mike Wakefield, North Shore News

A waterfront four-bedroom, seven-bathroom property at 4343 Erwin Dr. was No. 10 this year with an assessment of just under $22 million. It last sold in March 2020 for $19 million.

2250 Indian River Cres is the top assessment in North Vancouver. Mike Wakefield, North Shore News.

Secluded forest compound tops North Van assessments

In the District of North Vancouver, the top North Vancouver assessment continued to be a secluded 14-acre compound in the woods above Deep Cove, at 2250 Indian River Cres., assessed at $15.8 million – up just shy of two per cent from last year. The property includes a 9,000-square-foot custom West Coast home as well as a pond and Japanese-inspired garden, although much of its property value is in its subdivision potential.

All North Vancouver’s other top-assessed properties continue to be found in a neighbourhood on the Dollarton waterfront ranging in value from $11.8 million to $14.6 million.

The second and third top assessments were neighbours within a block of each other on Beachview Drive. A six-bedroom, six-bathroom home at 754 Beachview Dr., valued at just under $14.6 million, occupied the number two spot. The value of the deluxe 8,850-square-foot six-bedroom home was up 16 per cent over last year after it sold in September 2022 for $14.9 million.

Features of the oceanfront mansion include an infinity pool, 10-person hot tub, golf putting green, dock with boat lift, four-jet-ski slip and private ramp. Inside features double height ceilings, Miele appliances, movie theatre, billiard area, gym, sauna, steam room and wine room.

The third highest assessment in the District of North Vancouver was on the same street, less than a block away – a ten-bedroom, 14-bathroom 14,000-square-foot mansion on .6 of an acre of waterfront at 828 Beachview Dr. It was assessed at just over $13.96 million.

A home at 754 Beachview Drive in North Vancouver was assessed at $14.6 million. Zealty.ca

Highrise havens top valued in City of North Van

All the City of North Vancouver’s top 10 assessments were once again waterfront condominiums, ranging in assessed value from $4.9 million to $9 million.

The top assessment in the city was a penthouse suite in a waterfront condominium tower at 1301-199 Victory Ship Way, assessed at $8.99 million – down from its $10.4 million assessment last year. Eight of the top assessed condos were in a neighbouring building at 175 Victory Ship Way.

The second-highest assessment was close by, at 901-185 Victory Ship Way, assessed at just under $6.6 million.

The third-highest assessment in the city – a 3,000-square-foot sub-penthouse at 905-175 Victory Ship Way – was also the top sale in the City of North Vancouver in 2021, going for $5.8 million in Feb 2021. It is currently assessed at $5.15 million.

 

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Here are some facts about British Columbia’s housing market

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Housing affordability is a key issue in the provincial election campaign in British Columbia, particularly in major centres.

Here are some statistics about housing in B.C. from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s 2024 Rental Market Report, issued in January, and the B.C. Real Estate Association’s August 2024 report.

Average residential home price in B.C.: $938,500

Average price in greater Vancouver (2024 year to date): $1,304,438

Average price in greater Victoria (2024 year to date): $979,103

Average price in the Okanagan (2024 year to date): $748,015

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Vancouver: $2,181

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Victoria: $1,839

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Canada: $1,359

Rental vacancy rate in Vancouver: 0.9 per cent

How much more do new renters in Vancouver pay compared with renters who have occupied their home for at least a year: 27 per cent

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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B.C. voters face atmospheric river with heavy rain, high winds on election day

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VANCOUVER – Voters along the south coast of British Columbia who have not cast their ballots yet will have to contend with heavy rain and high winds from an incoming atmospheric river weather system on election day.

Environment Canada says the weather system will bring prolonged heavy rain to Metro Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast, Fraser Valley, Howe Sound, Whistler and Vancouver Island starting Friday.

The agency says strong winds with gusts up to 80 kilometres an hour will also develop on Saturday — the day thousands are expected to go to the polls across B.C. — in parts of Vancouver Island and Metro Vancouver.

Wednesday was the last day for advance voting, which started on Oct. 10.

More than 180,000 voters cast their votes Wednesday — the most ever on an advance voting day in B.C., beating the record set just days earlier on Oct. 10 of more than 170,000 votes.

Environment Canada says voters in the area of the atmospheric river can expect around 70 millimetres of precipitation generally and up to 100 millimetres along the coastal mountains, while parts of Vancouver Island could see as much as 200 millimetres of rainfall for the weekend.

An atmospheric river system in November 2021 created severe flooding and landslides that at one point severed most rail links between Vancouver’s port and the rest of Canada while inundating communities in the Fraser Valley and B.C. Interior.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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No shortage when it comes to B.C. housing policies, as Eby, Rustad offer clear choice

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British Columbia voters face no shortage of policies when it comes to tackling the province’s housing woes in the run-up to Saturday’s election, with a clear choice for the next government’s approach.

David Eby’s New Democrats say the housing market on its own will not deliver the homes people need, while B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad saysgovernment is part of the problem and B.C. needs to “unleash” the potential of the private sector.

But Andy Yan, director of the City Program at Simon Fraser University, said the “punchline” was that neither would have a hand in regulating interest rates, the “giant X-factor” in housing affordability.

“The one policy that controls it all just happens to be a policy that the province, whoever wins, has absolutely no control over,” said Yan, who made a name for himself scrutinizing B.C.’s chronic affordability problems.

Some metrics have shown those problems easing, with Eby pointing to what he said was a seven per cent drop in rent prices in Vancouver.

But Statistics Canada says 2021 census data shows that 25.5 per cent of B.C. households were paying at least 30 per cent of their income on shelter costs, the worst for any province or territory.

Yan said government had “access to a few levers” aimed at boosting housing affordability, and Eby has been pulling several.

Yet a host of other factors are at play, rates in particular, Yan said.

“This is what makes housing so frustrating, right? It takes time. It takes decades through which solutions and policies play out,” Yan said.

Rustad, meanwhile, is running on a “deregulation” platform.

He has pledged to scrap key NDP housing initiatives, including the speculation and vacancy tax, restrictions on short-term rentals,and legislation aimed at boosting small-scale density in single-family neighbourhoods.

Green Leader Sonia Furstenau, meanwhile, says “commodification” of housing by large investors is a major factor driving up costs, and her party would prioritize people most vulnerable in the housing market.

Yan said it was too soon to fully assess the impact of the NDP government’s housing measures, but there was a risk housing challenges could get worse if certain safeguards were removed, such as policies that preserve existing rental homes.

If interest rates were to drop, spurring a surge of redevelopment, Yan said the new homes with higher rents could wipe the older, cheaper units off the map.

“There is this element of change and redevelopment that needs to occur as a city grows, yet the loss of that stock is part of really, the ongoing challenges,” Yan said.

Given the external forces buffeting the housing market, Yan said the question before voters this month was more about “narrative” than numbers.

“Who do you believe will deliver a better tomorrow?”

Yan said the market has limits, and governments play an important role in providing safeguards for those most vulnerable.

The market “won’t by itself deal with their housing needs,” Yan said, especially given what he described as B.C.’s “30-year deficit of non-market housing.”

IS HOUSING THE ‘GOVERNMENT’S JOB’?

Craig Jones, associate director of the Housing Research Collaborative at the University of British Columbia, echoed Yan, saying people are in “housing distress” and in urgent need of help in the form of social or non-market housing.

“The amount of housing that it’s going to take through straight-up supply to arrive at affordability, it’s more than the system can actually produce,” he said.

Among the three leaders, Yan said it was Furstenau who had focused on the role of the “financialization” of housing, or large investors using housing for profit.

“It really squeezes renters,” he said of the trend. “It captures those units that would ordinarily become affordable and moves (them) into an investment product.”

The Greens’ platform includes a pledge to advocate for federal legislation banning the sale of residential units toreal estate investment trusts, known as REITs.

The party has also proposed a two per cent tax on homes valued at $3 million or higher, while committing $1.5 billion to build 26,000 non-market units each year.

Eby’s NDP government has enacted a suite of policies aimed at speeding up the development and availability of middle-income housing and affordable rentals.

They include the Rental Protection Fund, which Jones described as a “cutting-edge” policy. The $500-million fund enables non-profit organizations to purchase and manage existing rental buildings with the goal of preserving their affordability.

Another flagship NDP housing initiative, dubbed BC Builds, uses $2 billion in government financingto offer low-interest loans for the development of rental buildings on low-cost, underutilized land. Under the program, operators must offer at least 20 per cent of their units at 20 per cent below the market value.

Ravi Kahlon, the NDP candidate for Delta North who serves as Eby’s housing minister,said BC Builds was designed to navigate “huge headwinds” in housing development, including high interest rates, global inflation and the cost of land.

Boosting supply is one piece of the larger housing puzzle, Kahlon said in an interview before the start of the election campaign.

“We also need governments to invest and … come up with innovative programs to be able to get more affordability than the market can deliver,” he said.

The NDP is also pledging to help more middle-class, first-time buyers into the housing market with a plan to finance 40 per cent of the price on certain projects, with the money repayable as a loan and carrying an interest rate of 1.5 per cent. The government’s contribution would have to be repaid upon resale, plus 40 per cent of any increase in value.

The Canadian Press reached out several times requesting a housing-focused interview with Rustad or another Conservative representative, but received no followup.

At a press conference officially launching the Conservatives’ campaign, Rustad said Eby “seems to think that (housing) is government’s job.”

A key element of the Conservatives’ housing plans is a provincial tax exemption dubbed the “Rustad Rebate.” It would start in 2026 with residents able to deduct up to $1,500 per month for rent and mortgage costs, increasing to $3,000 in 2029.

Rustad also wants Ottawa to reintroduce a 1970s federal program that offered tax incentives to spur multi-unit residential building construction.

“It’s critical to bring that back and get the rental stock that we need built,” Rustad said of the so-called MURB program during the recent televised leaders’ debate.

Rustad also wants to axe B.C.’s speculation and vacancy tax, which Eby says has added 20,000 units to the long-term rental market, and repeal rules restricting short-term rentals on platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo to an operator’s principal residence or one secondary suite.

“(First) of all it was foreigners, and then it was speculators, and then it was vacant properties, and then it was Airbnbs, instead of pointing at the real problem, which is government, and government is getting in the way,” Rustad said during the televised leaders’ debate.

Rustad has also promised to speed up approvals for rezoning and development applications, and to step in if a city fails to meet the six-month target.

Eby’s approach to clearing zoning and regulatory hurdles includes legislation passed last fall that requires municipalities with more than 5,000 residents to allow small-scale, multi-unit housing on lots previously zoned for single family homes.

The New Democrats have also recently announced a series of free, standardized building designs and a plan to fast-track prefabricated homes in the province.

A statement from B.C.’s Housing Ministry said more than 90 per cent of 188 local governments had adopted the New Democrats’ small-scale, multi-unit housing legislation as of last month, while 21 had received extensions allowing more time.

Rustad has pledged to repeal that law too, describing Eby’s approach as “authoritarian.”

The Greens are meanwhile pledging to spend $650 million in annual infrastructure funding for communities, increase subsidies for elderly renters, and bring in vacancy control measures to prevent landlords from drastically raising rents for new tenants.

Yan likened the Oct. 19 election to a “referendum about the course that David Eby has set” for housing, with Rustad “offering a completely different direction.”

Regardless of which party and leader emerges victorious, Yan said B.C.’s next government will be working against the clock, as well as cost pressures.

Yan said failing to deliver affordable homes for everyone, particularly people living on B.C. streets and young, working families, came at a cost to the whole province.

“It diminishes us as a society, but then also as an economy.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

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