Absurd (North) Vancouver Property of the Week
I think it is fair to say that our perception of what is a good deal in real estate is very skewed here in Vancouver. For example, I hear many people talking about areas just outside of Vancouver that are “such great value.” One place where I hear there are great deals to be had is North Vancouver.
What the average person can afford to spend vs. what they are willing to spend are two different things. Many people seem confident that between $600-800K is a comfortable price range. I decided to take a look at what you can get for something between $650 to $700K. Let’s start way out east in Halifax:
This “Majestic, executive style 5 bedroom 3.5 bath residence…has 3 floors, panoramic VIEWS and lots of PRIVACY.” Just up the road from the waterfront and 15 minutes outside of downtown Halifax. Small town living never looked so good.
Maybe Halifax is a little too small town for you, however. How about Richmond Hill, Ontario?
This 4 bedroom, completely renovated home is located 15 minutes from downtown Toronto. The large eat-in kitchen has French doors that open up to a large patio which leads to a pool.
Still to far east for you? Need to be closer to the precious Pacific? How about Bellvue, Seattle?
This is a 4 Beds, 3.5 Baths brand new home, set to be completed in March, 2013. Highlights include a formal dining room, and great room. Located approximately 7 miles outside of Seattle.
Finally, what does $650 – $700K get you in “reasonable” North Vancouver?
This “Super Starter Home”! You will “you will love the feel & warmth of this home.” Hopefully, you don’t want to enjoy too much quiet, though, as it is right next to the highway.
(North) Vancouver…are you f*%king kidding me?
Oh wow…
I’m a born-and-raised North Vancouverite, and I love my community. The housing prices though, are ridiculous. Enough to make me want to move to Langley or something. My husband and I are blessed to own our own home (townhouse) but my dream has alway been to have a detached house with a yard where we can raise our children and stay there for the next 20 years or more. The jump in price from a townhouse to a house here is HUGE and out of reach, but I hope not for too much longer. I look forward to more Absurd North Van homes on your blog in the future!!
BWAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHA!!!! oh man at least the windows are a nice blue?? ROFL!!!!
Hey – love the blog and especially this series – but just for reference (from a lifelong North Vancouverite) anyone saying there are good deals to be had in North Van is talking crazy talk. North Van prices are higher than Vancouver proper prices. It goes West Van > North Van > Vancouver. North Van has just as little space to build, but more bylaws regarding heights and more “pay for your view” semantics driving prices up.
Just to contradict K above, we left East Van because we couldn’t afford to buy in our desired location with the amenities we wanted, The Drive (or didn’t want, namely a basement suite).
We sold our place in East Van (Hastings Sunrise) and found our dollar went much further in North Van, where I grew up. I was surprised, as I also thought that North Van would be more expensive. It wasn’t for what we were looking for (approx 1800 sq feet, 2 bath, 2-3 beds). We also got more property out of the deal and a renovated house.
Granted it depends on where you’re buying, but I can assure you I don’t live in crackville in North Van. Just leave Edgemont, Delbrook, Queens and Blueridge out and you have a lot to choose from. Eg-Norgate has some really cute ranchers. Walking distance to all amenities.