Metro homeowners hit by weak market
Five more Metro Vancouver homeowners hosed in a falling market
David Carrigg
The Province
A recent report from Central 1 Credit Union suggests a rebound in Metro Vancouver’s housing market is coming. However, at the moment there are property owners losing hundreds-of-thousands of dollars on their investments.
Released last month, Central 1 foretold of a turnaround in B.C.’s housing market — with both sales and prices jumping by 2021 — as long as interest rates stay low.
However, for Twitter real estate watcher Mortimer, his online hobby of tracking losers in the local market has never been more active.
Here’s a list of the five latest property owners to lose big in the local real estate market:
1: 4891 McKee Pl., Burnaby
This solid, 1953 home on a very large 60-by-150 lot in Burnaby would have seemed like a good pick in May 2016 when the owners forked out $1.9 million for their stake in Metro. Then the former B.C. Liberal government introduced its foreign owner’s tax and things started going downhill from there, leading to late November 2019 when that same home was sold for $1.495 million. A loss of $405,000, plus realtor and legal costs. It’s now assessed at $1.5 million. 2018 Assessed: $1,504,500 – 2017 Assessed: $1,659,400
2: 3018 Burfield Pl., West Vancouver
This beautiful, 3,100-square-foot, custom built home was bought new for $3.347 million on April 19, 2016 — again, right at the wrong time. It just sold for $3.1 million, marking a $250,000 loss, plus expenses. 2018 Assessed: $3,114,000 – 2017 Assessed: $3,358,000
3: 6210 Buckingham Dr., Burnaby
Assessed on July 1, 2019, at $2.371 million, this older (1967) home sits on a 10,881-sq.-ft. lot and was bought on April 26, 2016, for $3.11 million. There’s a real theme here of people who bought in early 2016 and are now losing a lot of money. In this case, the loss is a whopping $1 million, as it sold recently for $2.1 million. 2018 Assessed: $2,371,000 – 2017 Assessed: $2,665,000
4: 2929 West 29th Ave., Vancouver
Bought in (you guessed it) February 2016, this 2,200-sq.-ft. Dunbar oldie cost its owner $2.7 million. Assessed now at $2.4 million, the property sold last month for $2 million — a $700,000 loss. 2018 Assessed: $2,406,300 – 2017 Assessed: $2,670,600
5: 667 Baycrest Dr., North Vancouver
This property was bought in March 2017 when the market had already started to drop, so the bath isn’t as hefty as what might have been. The owner paid $2.36 million for a 2,800-sq.-ft. home on a massive 15,000-sq.-ft. lot wedged between Dollarton Highway and Baycrest Drive, three blocks from the water. Listed for $2.36 million (hoping to break even on paper), the house sold for $2.05 million last month — a loss of $310,000. 2018 Assessed: $2,172,000 – 2017 Assessed: $2,260,000
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