Friday, September 20, 2013

Are you ready for the $1.2 million converted garage as your home?



Yesterday we told you about the upcoming auction of a 526 square foot 'laneway' house in Vancouver.

Laneway houses are one of the 'solutions' for increasing density on the Wet Coast.  Instead of building a garage, use the space for a self-contained rental suite.

But they aren't just being used as mortgage helpers anymore.  As noted in yesterday's post, they are now being marketed as separate properties. The 526 square foot mansion profiled in our last post is 'valued' at $500,000.

And as stunningly stupid as that sounds, how about the $1million + lane way home?

Well it's here.  Above is a new listing (pictures yet to come) for a laneway house at 2330 W. 7th Avenue in Vancouver with an asking price of $1,278,000.  From the listing description:
Welcome to the most desirable coach house in the highligh sought-after Kitsalano neighbourhood. A home that instantly feels right. Lots of private outdoor space, open concept layout, hardwood floors throughout, in-floor radiant heating,vaulted ceilings, built-in speakers and designer series Viking appliances are just some of the many features in this home. Architecture by Alexander Ravkov Inc, Interior and Design and Construction by Open Concept Development. Full 2-5-10 New Home Warranty. Elevate your lifestyle with this magnificent new home!
We'll update with pictures when they become available.

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29 comments:

  1. And people still think that somehow this is no big deal, and this will all end well or at least someone will take care of things when all the wealth of debt implodes in a supermassive black hole of deflation.
    Hold on to your seats, because the roller coaster has started and is picking up speed exponentially.

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  2. Sometimes you can tell the ethnicity of the speculators by the spelling mistakes that they make in the advertisements. "the highligH sought after Kitsilano region"?

    I'm thinking Irish.

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  3. When did it become legal to subdivide a coach house from the rest of the lot? That's new and big news.

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    Replies
    1. It's a strata titled property. The land was not sub-divided.


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  4. The listing is for a coach house, not a laneway house. Yes, its still on the lane but is much larger (in this case 1500 sq ft). For several yrs now, coach houses in Kits have been selling for over a million. Yes, its insane, but its not new. Some argue a coach house is more valuable than an equivalent sized townhouse because it doesn't share walls with a neighbor.

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  5. Soon the land between the house and the laneway house will be rezoned commercial, to accommodate hotdog cart-sized retail outlets.

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    1. Why stop there when you can get an easy 100 thousand for the award winning designer dog house? Realtors can sell anything! Especially when it has in-floor radiant heat, SS appliances (like nice doggy dishes) and hardwood throughout. Matters not that the damn thing is only 9 square feet. People like to live small these days and lanes are the bestest everest. Plus you get to sniff through the garbage cans before anyone else since you are so close to the alley.

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  6. 1.2 million for a garage.......and I always thought the "carriage house" was for the "domestics".

    Only in Vancouver are people this stupid.

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    1. Yeah, especially since after spending all that money they can't even afford domestic help and servants anymore. Isn't it a little ironic prices are so high that we now have rich folks competing to buy the servants quarters and then watch as they happily move in their own furniture and live there? HaHaHaHaHa!!! Too damned funny, man! Lets get rich and blow the whole load living West-Side and do all our own cooking and cleaning cause that is what all this money is really for. Too fu**ing stupid for words!

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    2. 1.2 million for "servant quarters" !!!!
      People are completely out of their minds. Anyone who buys now is completely nuts. My dog has more sense than that.

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    3. 1.2 million for "servant quarters". People have gone completely nuts. My dog has more sense.

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  7. Here's another one on the next block - asking $1.389M.

    http://www.ecorealtyinc.ca/listing?id=260483162

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  8. I am in Victoria not Vancouver and it is not as stupid here but still.....

    People just think the prices going down is a blip. The market will stay down for a couple of years and then go back up.

    I am seriously thinking of leaving BC. I think I had enough.

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    Replies
    1. Send us a postcard of somewhere nice then please. A place where all the people are not housing retards would be a good starter.

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    2. No matter where you go, there you are and it is not going to be any different by any margin. Try Ontario or PEI where nothing changes, literally, nothing.....

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  9. "...a place where all the people are not housing retards"...pretty well anywhere but here.

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    Replies
    1. I think Toronto is vying for #2 retard real estate status......

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    2. And Montreal and Saskatoon and Regina and Winnipeg and Calgary and Victoria and......

      The retards need to find another country.

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  10. A ghetto is a derogatory term, sometimes referred to as a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially because of social, legal, or economic pressure.[1] The term was originally used in Venice to describe the part of a city to which Jews were restricted and segregated. - Vancouver is turning into a ghetto. I moved out few years back for Vancouver proper - second best thing I ever did.

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  11. I hate to break it to you guys, but something akin to these "laneways" or "coach house" are very common in Southern California and have been for 25 plus years. Usually they are closer to the coast where land is at a much higher premium. They technically are considered townhouses (not SFR), subdivided and with an HOA. Usually the developers buy up grannys old 1940s teardown and put up new two (or three, or four) on a lots. The nicer ones are typically two on a lot, no shared walls, small yard. It is a good option for densification when the land gets too expensive and you don't really want it doo dense (condos). This may be the future solution for Vancouver's land use issues.

    Here are some examples:
    http://www.redfin.com/CA/Redondo-Beach/706-N-Lucia-Ave-90277/unit-B/home/8152666

    http://www.redfin.com/CA/Redondo-Beach/508-N-Lucia-Ave-90277/unit-B/home/17240565

    http://www.redfin.com/CA/Redondo-Beach/2225-Gates-Ave-90278/unit-B/home/6686612

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    Replies
    1. Yes but these are in California, not Vancouver. Not apples to apples and certainly not like the coach houses built in Kelowna which require more room and access.

      Cheers,

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  12. hey whisperer I thought you might like a story out of this. garth turner the wall post 123 canadian watchdog

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  13. “Realtor fired for telling truth about Vancouver real estate bubble”

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zMTHIkv-n8

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    1. Thanks Joe. We should not be surprised that the suits inside the cartel are quick on the termination button for tjhose breaking ranks and speaking the truth. They are also notoriously slow to discipline menbers who cheat on paperwork, steal customer accounts, lie about the numbers of people bidding prices or engage in unsavoury business practices that would be criminal on the stock market. Boy are they ever consistant.

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    2. You can't really get fired as a realtor. You're licensed by the province. All you need is someone who agrees to assume vicarious liability for your actions while providing your brokerage services.

      There is no cartel of suits. His manager felt that Patrick was breaching realtor ethics (which Patrick agreed to abide by) by his posts. His manager, like Patrick, is responsible for ensuring that these ethics aren't breached.

      Additionally, based on Patrick's own evidence, he was into the office for over $3000 and was complaining that he had no money.

      In other words, there's probably more here than meets the eye.

      That said, the fact of the matter is that he (Patrick) can walk into any brokerage in the province and ask not to be hired, but to enter into a contractual business relationship whereby a broker accepts responsibilities for Patrick's actions and they both agree on a price for the services rendered.

      The manager who decided to end the relationship with Patrick is also not related, at all, the the Real Estate Council, a government body, which disciplines serious realtor mis-behaviour. No cartel. Check with the Competition Bureau. They'll confirm it!

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  14. crazy http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Photos+Vancouver+laneway+home+rentals+price/8890110/story.html

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    1. The sad thing is that compared to UBC or SFU ghetto standards, for ~%35 more per month than the average mouldy tiny one bedroom in a basement shared between four people, you're getting far more of higher quality rental.

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  15. Uh-oh. Bad news for the Canadian housing market?

    Check out the top line in the latest total household credit numbers from the Bank of Canada. The rate of increase in the total household credit numbers is really starting to slow down recently.

    http://credit.bankofcanada.ca/householdcredit

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  16. Time for a new blog posting, Whisperer.... this one's played-out.

    :-(

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