Monday, September 10, 2007

so, what gives?

I picked 3 houses in East Vancouver that are within 4 blocks of each other, on virtually identically sized lots - though the last house has about 400 sq. feet less in lot size.

The first house is 107 years old, and has very little going for it - other than having rental income of $1450/month. Wow! With 5% down, you will only be bleeding about $3800/month. Not to worry! Prices can only go up... Household income to buy this? $200K per annum.

The second house is a mere $11K more, on the next block east, and is 39 years old. A youngster to be sure! There is a claim of it being re-done inside and out, so this house is immediately livable, and has five bedrooms. You could probably rent it out for $2500/month, so with 5% down, you'd only bleed ~$2700/month.

The third place is 3 years old, and is situated 3 blocks east, and 2 blocks south. It is next to brand new, and is only $32K more than the little green tear-down (or is that place heritage scheduled?!). Granted, the lot is ~10% smaller, but the new place is already built, and the GST absorbed.

There is a bit of a disconnect going on here. Everybody keeps talking about how it's the land that's worth the money, but 3 almost identical lots, in the same area, are so close in price. It will surely cost more than the $38k difference in price to pay all the commissions, PTT, and to tear down and build new, so what gives?


Rare find! Completely remodelled beautiful solid house in prime Renfrew Heights. View from top floor. 2 bedrooms up, 2 bedrooms on main (master bedroom ensuite with steam bath). Downstairs with 2 separate suites (2 bedrooms & 1 bedrooms suite) for your mortgage helper. Total 4 bathrooms. House features: 2 bright skylights, all beautiful hardwood floor re-sanded 4 years ago, all new shutters & window coverings, new double glazed windows, 1 year old roof, new hot water tank, new furna ce, new designer paint, crown moulding, new toilets & faucets, new light fixtures, new patio cover, also 2 sets of laundries for your convenient. Very good rental income $1,450.00 p/m., 2 bedrooms suite is partially furnished. Big double garage.

MLS®: V653794 Finished Floor Area: 2901.0 sqft.
Property Type: House Lot Frontage: 33.0 ft.
Basement: Full Lot Depth: 120 ft.
Bedrooms: 7 Age: 107
Bathrooms: (Full:4, Half:0)
Features: Central location
View
$738,000.00



SOLID 2-Level Special with over 2,400 SqFt of space. 3 Bedrooms Up and 2.5 Bedro oms Down. Completely restored inside and out with new double-glazed vinyl window s, plumbing, metal roof, crown mouldings, laminate floor + more. Extra large covered sundeck with views! Located on a quiet tree-lined street. Easy access to transportation, schools and shopping. So clean you can just move in today! ACT FAST! This won't last.

MLS®: V666349 Finished Floor Area: 2413.0 sqft.
Property Type: House Lot Frontage: 33.06 ft.
Basement: Fully Finished Lot Depth: 119.8 ft.
Bedrooms: 5 Age: 39
Bathrooms: (Full:2, Half:0)
Features: Central location
Private setting
Recreation nearby
Shopping nearby
Drapes/Window coverings
$749,000.00
A home close to everything with a view of the North Shore Mountains. Finishing i ncludes a beautiful granite foyer and granite countertops. Room for the extended family. Enjoy barbecues on the covered deck. This home is only 3 years new!

MLS®: V658540 Finished Floor Area: 2149.0 sqft.
Property Type: House Lot Frontage: 33.0 ft.
Basement: Fully Finished Lot Depth: 114 ft.
Bedrooms: 6 Age: 3
Bathrooms: (Full:4, Half:0)
Features: Central location
Shopping nearby
View
$770,000.00

12 comments:

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Ack.

Mrs. Hairy Woman said...

Holy Smokes... Although the last one is nicer...None appeal at that price...

J.Son said...

While the price for these homes is pretty ridiculous, I'm assuming the people buying them are those who are moving up from the crappy $5-600,000 east van home they just sold.

Anonymous said...

I haven't seen anything else recently which shows so potently how Vancouver is headed for a crash. I was aware that crappy houses were selling for $700k, but I hadn't appreciated just how absurd it was.

The amazing thing is, these seem more wildly overpriced than even the bubbliest markets in the US, before the crash.

I'd say it was unbelievable if you hadn't clearly pulled these right off MLS!

solipsist said...

I just can't decide whether or not to delete the spam that manifests the first comment. It's kind of sad, and I don't want to harm the poor "fellow's" already tattered esteem. Baton twirling indeed!

Don't bother visiting the address - it's just spam.

aetakeo - well put. I might add another ack, and a gack.

Did anyone notice how all the pic's were taken at angles? Can't the realtors have some sense of aesthetic and visual decorum when taking shots of crap that they want you to pony up 3/4 of a million bucks for? I might do an animation/morph with those three pic's.

babybullhirsutewoman - what would you pay - for each or any?

gianni - I'd hate to see what they are "moving up" from into the first two.

anon - it may be off of (the same page of) the MLS, but it is still unfreakingbelievable.

mohican said...

Wow, amazing. The crap is so close in price to the nice and its all ridiculously overpriced.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

You know what I've noticed? Less touched by the bubble - relatively speaking - is Shaughnessy. I mean, yah, it's a million and a half bucks for a starter home: but per square foot for house and lot, and based on what you get in terms of house itself, I would suggest they're cheaper than Kits or Yaletown.

They're big, on huge lots, with all the architectural details, gorgeous trees, and a lack of traffic.

If I were forced to buy in Vancouver, that's the only value proposition around. MLS V636872, a 2 million dollar house, is way more than 3 times better than these ack-boom-specials.

Anonymous said...

They put the wrong picture up for the green house. There is no way that green house has 2900 square feet, 7 bedrooms, four bathrooms and a view from the second floor -- it doesn't even have a second floor. Also, the rent must be from the 2 bedroom suite, not from the whole house -- you can't get 7 bedrooms for 1.4K.

solipsist said...

They put the wrong picture up for the green house. There is no way that green house has 2900 square feet, 7 bedrooms, four bathrooms and a view from the second floor

That's interesting. I wondered at that myself (very fleetingly).

I will endeavour to do a drive past and check that out.

Andrew said...

you're right about that green house. i lived in a house not too far from it on the same size lot, and there is no way it is 2900 square feet. maybe the realtor is including the garage in the square footage.

I owned a home at renfrew and georgia and i can tell you anyone paying anything over $500k for these dumps is a fool.