West Vancouver wins ‘locals first’ sales plan from condo developer
Joanne Lee-Young
The Province
Prices for proposed Westbank Corp. condos in Horseshoe Bay are dropping by more than 25 per cent on average at the same time as the Vancouver-based developer adopts a “locals first” policy that will initially sell only to buyers who live, work or own businesses in West Vancouver.
Earlier this week, the company got initial rezoning approval from the District of West Vancouver for its plans to build an upscale condo project in Horseshoe Bay on land long-held by the family that runs Sewell’s Marina.
Westbank and the Sewells had pulled back their development application in July after local residents, business owners and councillors complained the initial prices presented by Westbank to potential buyers — both locally and overseas, in particular in Hong Kong — were too high at about $1,200 a square foot.
On June 14, at an event in Horseshoe Bay, about 1,000 people were given handouts listing starting prices for “a 584-square foot one-bedroom unit at $700,900; a 1,746-square foot three-bedroom unit at $2.189 million and for penthouses between 2,500- to 3,500-square feet ‘available on request.’” In Hong Kong, on June 11 and 12, Westbank held an open house and ran articles in major English and Chinese-language publications with prices mentioned in the same $1,200 a square foot range.
The company this week presented district council with prices in the $875 a square foot range, with some units going for less, some for more. It means a price list that is about 27 per cent lower.
“Our aim is for these units to be sold to people who live here and not as investments or for flipping purposes. The response (from Westbank and the Sewells) has been positive and a lot of headway was made,” said West Vancouver councillor Mary-Ann Booth, who earlier said council is “looking for a local price list that is for a local market, not a global one.”
According to Booth, the project’s 159 condo one-, two- and three-bedroom units will now be sold first to “West Van residents, workers or business operators,” for the first 30 days of sales.
This circle will then be expanded in the following 60 days to include similar buyers from the Lower Mainland.
“The idea is to not market overseas until we exhaust the local market,” said Booth. “My job isn’t putting money into the pockets of developers. It is meeting the needs of the community and the concerns it has over the housing affordability crisis.”
Booth said she has “been spreading word (of Westbank’s locals first arrangement) to other West Van developers. We are going to be looking for the same terms from them, too.”
She said that “marketing to offshore investors is one thing. If people want to move from other places in the world to make a life here, that’s a different story.”
Westbank’s marketing executive, Michael Braun, told council the company will be training salespeople to establish relationships with buyers as a way of gauging their commitment to living in the condos instead of holding them for speculative reasons, said Booth.
“They will be looking for signs. There are only 159 units (in the Horseshoe Bay development). It’s not huge … They can pick and choose (buyers).”
Word of the locals first campaign emerged in early July before the province’s surprise decision to slap a 15 per cent tax on residential purchases by non-Canadian buyers in Metro Vancouver. More recently, the City of Vancouver has been trying to figure out how to identify and tax so-called empty homes.
“We are being way more proactive,” said Booth. “I actually do hold this up as a model for other jurisdictions. It makes sense when we are trying to crack the nut of affordability. You have to deal with the demand side. You can pump out all the supply, but if people are buying not to live in the units and we are not selling to those who need it the most for housing. …”
Asked about the $1,200 a square foot price, Megan Sewell said that “was months ago. The new price range reflects the current environment.”
She declined to elaborate except to say “we are focused on the community of Horseshoe Bay. This is a very personal project for us. We are invested in the community. We have been here for 85 years and four generations.”
“The locals first initiative is not related to price or about that,” said Westbank’s Braun in an email. “The initiative was developed in conjunction with the District of West Vancouver to build community in Horseshoe Bay, which was the original goal of the Sewell family that owns the land.
“The initiative is about providing first access to West Vancouver residents and those who work there, at the request of the District, and making all purchasers regardless of whether or not they live or work in West Vancouver, sign a declaration stating they or a family member intend to live in the home being purchased and be part of the Horseshoe Bay community and are not intending on flipping the home. Local first is about access and building community not price per square foot.
“The affordability discussion of Horseshoe Bay with West Vancouver council is around the fact that it is adding to the very limited supply of multi-family units in West Vancouver and the project is less expensive than the other new multi-family projects currently being marketed in West Vancouver,” said Braun.
He said “West Vancouver has 29 per cent multi-family housing compared to 60 per cent in Vancouver.”
Braun said there has been no price change. “We have not issued a price … for the project, nor could we have, as a disclosure statement has yet to be filed.”
Council has to give the project final approval, expected on Oct. 3, before the company can file the disclosure statement required by the province’s Real Estate Development Marketing Act. Only then do prices become official.
© 2016 Postmedia Network Inc.