Richmond: another example from ground zero for the real estate collapse in Greater Vancouver

Richmond, for those outside B.C, is a suburb community of Vancouver (and home of the Lower Mainland's largest airport).

Situated on a river delta, Richmond's geography averages just one metre above sea level. Prone to flooding, especially during high tide, the City has grown up surrounded by a system of dykes, which, although not as massive as those in the Netherlands or the levees of New Orleans, serve to protect the City from anticipated sources of flooding.

But will residents of the infamous HAM suburb soon find themselves underwater in another sense of the word?

Last Saturday we profiled yet another property in what may well become ground zero for the bubble collapse in the Lower Mainland.

The topic that day was 3900 Francis Road. Assessed at $1,020,000, the current listing price for the house is down to $799,000 - with no takers yet.

Before that we showed you 7920 Shackleton Drive. Assessed at $1,010,000, reduced several times until it reached $799,000, the house finally sold last month for $765,000.

Earlier this year, back in March, we started it all off with 6231 Gibbons Drive. Originally listed on February 28th, 2008 for $2,388,000, the property stagnated on the market until if finally lowered the asking price to $1,888,000. In March of 2012, the property sold for $1,428,000. That's $960,000 off the original asking price or 40% lower.

Yikes.

And the carnage continues.

In this week's version of the Weekly Drop, the blog Vancouver Price Drop gives us our next collapsing asset to profile from the island delta and it's back to Gibbons Drive again.

6691 Gibbons Drive, to be precise.

Assessed at $1,258,600, the realtor's description is priceless:

VALUE HAS AN ADDRESS and it is this fabulous custom designed 4 bedroom, 3 bath (plus den, family room and wrap around decks on both levels) home ON BEAUTIFUL GIBBONS DRIVE, AREA OF MILLION DOLLAR HOMES!

Here is a screenshot of the property listing so you can see it for yourself (click on image to enlarge):

What did they just call Gibbons Drive - area of million dollar homes?

It would appear that Million Dollar Homes aren't what they used to be, at least in terms of financial value.

For, as you can see from the screenshot, despite being currently assessed at $1,258,6000, the asking price of 6691 Gibbons Drive has now dropped to $898,800.

That's a plunge in value of $359,200 or 29% from the last government assessed value of the property... with no buyer in sight, meaning it will sell for even less.

Richmond, BC: a real estate disaster unfolding before your very eyes.

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