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There
are now apparently two truisms in Western
Canadian real estate: Waterfront prices are too
high. They will be higher next year.
“Waterfront is, and always will be, the very
best real estate investment,” said uber
Vancouver realtor Bob Rennie, president
of Rennie Marketing Systems, who has
been swamped with buyers trying to get into the
Waterstone Pier condo development he is selling
on the Fraser River near Richmond.
With
prices from $369,900 for a one-bedroom facing
the river, it looks like a deal for those
leading a tsunami of buyers charging for the
water, any water.
A
Kootenay lake that was virtually ignored a
decade ago because of poor access and a railway
fringe now has buyers paying $20,000 a foot for
its precious shoreline.
On
Texada Island, once mostly an open pit mine with
the scars to prove it, resident and realtor
Linda Bruhn can only gape. “Prices have gone
through the roof on the waterfront,” said Bruhn
of the Islands, located off the coast of Powell
River. “We have lists and lists of people
waiting for waterfront. Those who are buying are
largely rich city folk.”
The
rich city folks, though, are having shocks of
their own. The pre-completion prices for
condominiums in the new Fairmont Estates
high-rise on Vancouver’s Coal Harbour are in the
$2 million range. “We have people throwing money
at us,” Rennie told a CBC reporter when asked
how the suites were selling.
How
about Victoria, it has lots of waterfront? In
March there were 22 sales of Victoria-area
waterfront at an average price of $2 million.
“These sales includes two in Oak Bay- one for
over $10 million and one for just under $10
million,” said Victoria Real Estate Board
president Scott Kendrew. The waterfront
prices are now so high they are skewing house
sales statistics, he said. “Such high-priced
sales have a substantial impact on the overall
average price,” he said.
How
about driving east? In lake-starved, oil-rich
Alberta a reservoir with a drainage ditch is now
seen as prime waterfront, and values have
rocketed faster than the price at the gas pump.
At man-made Gleniffer Lake, near Red Deer, the
last cottage lots hit the market this year and
locals expect them to sell out in a day or so at
$350,000 each.
So,
what is an investor to do to fins the waterfront
they know will be worth more the longer they
hesitate?
Consider quarter-share purchases. These are
becoming more common and, like condos 20 years
ago, are meeting some resistance. But the
caliber and the location of the latest projects
is making them hander to ignore from a
recreation and investment stance. The latest
example is the new Painted Boat resort at Pender
Harbour, where quarter shares will be offered in
what early reports say will be the top resort
ever built on the Sunshine Coast. Prices are in
the $159,900-$260,000 range in the project by
developer Lowes Marine Community Ltd.
“Quarter ownership is hassle free and a smart
way to buy real estate,” said George Hare,
president of Recreational and Residential
Project Marketing Inc. “You own one-quarter
of your marina waterfront villa. Buyers have
complete private use when they need to get
away.”
Fly, don’t drive
Think
flying, not driving, advises Rudy Nielsen
president of NIHO Land & Cattle County
[sic] and one of the largest private land
dealers in Western Canada.
Nielsen notes that water-access-only waterfront
is a bargain, as is Cariboo lakefront that is a
10-hour-drive but only a short flight from the
city. And, he adds, there are now scores of
light plane charters available. “You can leave
Vancouver and be anywhere on the coast in less
than an hour.”
For
example, Ed Handja of Coast Realty
Group Campbell River has nearly 10 acres of
waterfront on the West Coast of Vancouver Island
in Barclay Sound listed for $150,000. This
compares with $500,000 for the new 700 square
foot condominiums in Ucluelet, a 30 minute boat
ride away.
Jenkins Island, a 186 acre private island with
seven beaches, three cabins and good moorage is
also for sale. It is about 25 minutes by boat
from Nanaimo or a few minutes by float place
from downtown Vancouver. Price is $2.45 million,
or about the same as a luxury condominium
overlooking Coal Harbour.
The
emerging Queen Charlotte Islands is another
example. While large waterfront subdivision lots
are now selling in the $250,000 range, there are
scattered parcels at half that price. It takes a
couple of hours to fly in from Vancouver or
Victoria.
Near
Williams Lake- a nine hour drive but just a 40
minute flight from Vancouver- LandQuest
Realty Corp. was selling three acre
waterfront lots for $25,000 this spring.
As
Nielsen notes, “you could fly into a property
every weekend and still save money compared to
buying waterfront near Vancouver.”
Keep
going, and you will get to bargain-priced
Manitoba, where the government is having
problems selling lakeshore lots for even $1500.
(More on that inside).
In
Saskatchewan, meanwhile, the closure of three
local pulp mills in the Lakes District may mean
bargain prices for lakefront this year.
So, there is still an opportunity
to buy waterfront at a price you can afford.
Take the plunge this year, because you know your
grandkids will love you for it. |
