‘Three Back Yards’
This via e-mail from ‘a regular visitor’ to the blog -
“I’d like to revisit your post of September 28, 2010 if I may…nostalgia overcame me. We were nearby over the weekend and wondered how that development was progressing. When that sodden framing went in last autumn, we were incredulous that they were shoehorning three SFHs into such a small parcel of land! I attach some photos here; what boggles the mind is why someone would be desperate to drop a couple of million or more on one of these. So darned close together – you can hardly get a cigarette paper between these three houses. What will happen when they have to get a ladder in there for those inevitable major repairs?! Those accompanying laneway houses seem pretty big; how small those yards are between the main houses and the laneway houses. Ugh. A friend who lives a few streets away from there (for the past 20 years or so), said there are many laneway houses being built in the vicinity. She said that some of them are so large, they obstruct the daylight that neighbouring houses used to enjoy. That’s not good in our light-deprived city…”
“Definitely feels like change is in the air, albeit at what seems like snails pace to anyone trying to survive here as a renter or wannabe buyer. As people have said on your blog so many times before, if you say anything at all about overvaluation of property in the Vancouver area you just get a blank stare and the same old stories – ‘no more land’, ‘everyone wants to live here’, etc. etc. Gets tired, doesn’t it? [But it does] give us something to talk about other than the rain and grey skies 
“
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vreaa comment: In our 28 Sep 2010 post, we estimated that these three houses would come on the market at about $2.25M each (Point Grey; new; 2500+sqft; 33×122 ft lots).
Well, it turns out our estimation was 13% low. One of the three (likely the corner one based on the number) is registered as sold:
4698 West 11th Ave, Point Grey, Westside, Vancouver
Sold 8 Apr 2011, $2.55M
‘Bonus: Price includes a laneway house and HST!
Laneway homes are approx 370 square feet.’
Realtor photos:
.
Good follow-up post. Actually I have to disagree with ‘regular visitor’: westside Vancovuer neighbourhoods need higher density and high prices are a tectonic-like force that is pushing this increased density into enclaves once felt safe from the prollie building style of other parts of the City.
This is just me, but having laneway houses and basement suites defocuses owners from being contributors to the city, by needing to be part-time amateur landlords instead. My bet is this style of accommodation won’t suit everyone.
Laneway houses and secondary suites effectively destroy a neighbourhood. The density is increased (which is a necessary thing but rowhouses or townhouses would be a more family friendly alternative) and the feeling of impermanence is exacerbated. The owners of multi-unit houses tend to be those that look upon housing as an investment rather than shelter so there is no thought to the neighbourhood and how ones actions might affect the locals. I have lived on the west-side all my life (grew up in Kits when it was all immigrants) and can tell you that most west-siders now have no idea of their neighbour’s names or who lives in what suite. A couple of years ago my computer erupted into flame, fire department was called and, long story short, at one point there were six emergency vehicles in the road on our street (West 21st). It was 9:30 p.m. and, although we could see neighbours looking out their windows, not one person came over to see how we were doing. It wasn’t because my family and I are scary, it’s because noone bothers with being “neighbourly”. It’s a trait that doesn’t bode well for the future because these housing “investors” aren’t in the area for its appeal, they’re here to make money and when that ship has sailed so will the investors.
Your point is well taken and it is why our family who came back to Vancouver 3 years ago after a long stint overseas, have become so disillusioned and are in the midst of packing up and leaving. Expatriate life is very transient and was one endless stream of farewell parties. It was time for us to settle and make permanent friends in the community. Thus our move to our hometown, Vancouver. Instead of a sense of connection with Vancouver and our neighbourhood we have found empty houses, unfriendly and uninterested neighbours and a perpetual turnover of property. We have found Vancouver to be a lonely place and realize that expatriate life, transient as it is, is far more friendly and inclusive. But to sum up, speculation in Vancouver has created a ghost town in some neighbourhoods. Sad, this is not the place I remember.
you must be from here
I agree with the sentiments of both posters above. However, it should be mentioned that many laneway houses that are built by LWH companies (ie.: not spec. built, such as those now-notorious homes on 11 and Blanca) are built for SFH owners who are looking for accommodation for extended family. In Vancouver, and especially the West-Side, one often hears the refrain that adult children would never be able to live in the neighborhood that they grew up in. Laneway housing is one solution to housing an extended family, providing for elder-care and child-care on one single lot.
if this post isn’t evidence of the “no more land” issue then I don’t know what is. Why else would someone spend 2.5M on one of these homes?
Because they’re in the death grip of a speculative mania?
Because they can’t get a visa to live in Bellevue in a 6000sqft house on a 1 acre lot, biking distance from two companies valued over $100 billion?
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3827-134th-Ave-NE-Bellevue-WA-98005/48788036_zpid/
We’re aiming to move south in about 2 years.
Thank you for this. Excellent comparison. (Somebody care to make the tax comparison for an income that can afford this pricing level?)
Here’s another stunner: Washington state has no state income tax. So you would only pay federal income tax.
If you earned $400k in BC, you would pay about $155k in tax, which is 39%.
If you earned $400k in Washington, you would pay $117k in tax (federal only), which is 29%.
I never understood why Canadians are willing to live in overpriced plywood houses. They look OK on the surface, but the structural quality is similar to shantytown houses in South America.
A real house should be made of concrete or brick or stone or at least real wood and not sawdust+glue.
lol this is true – and they’re always coming up with some fancy new way of pasting woodchips together. – i recall seeing i think they were 4×4 beams made of glued chips and then pressed – sure it’s strong but i think i’d rather have a beam cut from a tree trunk, thanks
Anecdote in Financial Post:
http://business.financialpost.com/2011/06/24/home-buying-advice-from-the-pizza-guy/
wow it’s all over the place: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/economy-lab/daily-mix/vancouver-pizza-boy-sell-your-house-now/article2074029/
What you don’t understand is that… it’s different here. We are running out of land and the cash-rich Chinese are desperate to buy the last bits of it. They use pizza delivery guys, because we are also running out of full time realtors.
http://i52.tinypic.com/2ciik2o.jpg
BOOYA
THAT RIGHT THERE, PEOPLE
IS THE MOTHERFUCKING SHOE SHINE BOY MOMENT
“The city has seen four corrections in the last 30 years — in 1981-82 (-30 per cent), 1990-91 (-14 per cent), 1995-96 (-20 per cent) and 2008-09 (-21 per cent). ”
So… going by that measure im sure we’ll see a correction over 30% since this is the grandaddy of all RE BUbbles, much bigger than all others.
http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Pizza+delivery+with+real+estate+business+side/5000153/story.html
Awesome sales price. Congratulations to the lucky developer. I guess it pays off when you can make (I estimate) $3 million in profit across all three homes net of carrying costs. Westside will be a horrid place to live in 20 years.
Marriot is in discussionswith the Musquem band to put a hotel on the UBC Golf Course lands (now owned by the Musquem band) expect a casino . LRT is going up 10th in 2025 and 70 percent of the homeowners will be absent or English as a second language Chinese.
Yes density is inevitable-but yuck.
we need to advertise vancouver more, apparently
huh?
Going by that measure you can expect no more than 20% since 30% is a one off
Hey Rusty, I remember a while back you were saying the rich people either get rich by real estate or park their wealth in real estate. However this article in today’s Globe and Mail seem to dispute that. It seems like less than 20% of the asset of the rich is in real estate and forecasted to go lower! Apparently they didn’t get your memo!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/mapping-the-millionaires/article2073697/?from=2073742
Rustys a f**king asshat that cant even hit a reply button properly.
Commmon 5 pm!!!!
rusty confuses the nouveaux riche with the real money.