The Open House Circuit — Page 2

Judy Shandler is here with her realtor, Fanny Wong. She already has a place on Beatty and is looking for a possible investment. “I don’t have a time frame,” Shandler insists. “It’s got to be right. Friends of mine got caught up in the price wars. I am not going to do that. It depends how bad you want it.”

“I was looking at one place online,” Shandler recalls, “and then the realtor called and said there were two offers in even before the viewing.” She shakes her head.

“If people don’t panic,” Wong adds, “they’ll find lots of properties becoming available in the spring. Step back, take a breather, and things will come on line.”

Reviews from this afternoon’s visitors are mildly positive, if noncommittal. The compact condo manages to pack in two bedrooms and two full bathrooms. Most of the folks trooping through seem reasonably impressed, at least with the view inside the windows. The info sheet boasts of a central location, close to shopping and recreation. That’s especially true of recreational drugs, although proximity to Fraser and Broadway dealers is not likely a big selling point with this crowd. At a list price of $255,000, one of the most impressive things on display here is the lowered expectations of Vancouver real estate shoppers.

There is another end to the market—a place where goals are loftier and any recreational drugs can be picked up by the footman. For that, you must travel south up Granville to a land where the tatty dregs of Fraser Street are but an unpleasant rumour.

On a slippery Shaughnessy sidewalk, an Open House sign sits covered in snow. Not many footprints have dimpled the front steps. It could be the result of the surprising little overnight blizzard that has the made the drive down Devonshire Crescent a four-wheel toboggan ride. Or it could be that, despite all the claims made for Vancouver’s wealthy and robust property market, there simply aren't that many people with $2 million to throw around these days.
It’s quiet inside the empty mansion, adding to the air of exclusivity but probably not improving the mood of realtor Greg Carros. “It’s the snow,” he says. “Most people would have assumed the open house was cancelled.”

The floor plan offers the sort of living East Broadway folks can only sigh after. The huge, well-appointed kitchen looks out into a spacious, private backyard. The second-floor bedrooms have walk-in closets. Even the walk-in closets have closets.

One couple is prowling the two stories plus glorified attic. Tom and Indira are the heads of a blended family, some of whom are away studying and may potentially boomerang back into the family residence. For them the nearly 5,000-square-foot, four-bedroom palace may be too small. Apparently it’s not cheaper by the dozen, after all.

Spacious though the pile may seem to some poor folk, Tom and Indira are not impressed. “That little third-floor space would be of no practical use to us,” Indira says. “Older homes do have character, but modern houses are at least designed for modern living, with no wasted square footage like those upstairs rooms.”

“There’s very little out there for us,” says Tom. “The market has run away from us, in terms of price.”

At just under two million this one is a relative bargain, they agree. But they’ll keep looking, and no one else seems likely to arrive. On this particular Sunday afternoon, it’s still lonely at the top. Carros closes up shop.

“I think there’s a lot of buyer fatigue,” Carros says. “Perhaps not at this end of the market, but lower down. The prices, the multiple offers, the running around, the pressure to make an offer before someone else grabs it—people are getting tired of it.”

“It’s not a problem with a property like this though,” he points out. “This part of the market is underpriced.”

Indeed, wandering around this stately home it appears that the value-for-money ratio leaps just outside the range of all those weary condo seekers. Three hundred thousand dollars is already a lot of money—seeing a place like this inspires the urge to simply jump from a taller cliff. Cast your bread upon the waters and it will return to you with walk-in closets and a designer kitchen. Perhaps it’s for the best that snow kept people away. An open house in Shaughnessy can cast a spell on you like a Vegas casino.

Down the hill near 14th and Oak, the traffic is a lot brisker for a two-bedroom condo with fireplace and balcony, listed at $309,900 and already piling up interested parties. Tire-kickers are streaming though the door, circling their way through the 820 square feet. Prospective residents looking around today have the advantage of seeing how the place would handle a raging party. Realtor Robert Crowe stands beside a dining room table littered with realtors’ cards, pleased and serene as the suitors jockey for position. “It’s very unclear when they’ll be accepting offers,” one realtor grouses as she leads her client away. Tough. When you’re a supermodel you can do what you please.

Then again, while Oak and 14th is a step up from Broadway and Fraser, it’s not exactly a supermodel’s neighbourhood. There are other issues too, as Crowe freely admits. “It was a former leaky condo that was renovated,” he explains. A rain screen has been installed. There’s an uneven feel to the floor. Still, the general feeling is this little beauty is underpriced.

“This is one of the nicer places we’ve seen,” says a woman named Jackie, accompanied by her partner, Mark. “Nice layout, corner position. The neighbourhood would not be our favourite choice—we’d prefer Mount Pleasant or the West End. But we’ve seen much worse.”

People are once again asking about the strata minutes. One woman stomps on the floor; another, incongruously, checks for dust on the table. This is a one-animal building—potential residents must make the difficult choice between bear and pig.

The real veterans stand out from the crowd. One well-dressed blonde woman checks out the kitchen cabinets and quickly pronounces the structure to be 15 years old. “It’s these things here,” she says, sliding her hand over the moulded-wood handle pieces at the bottom of each cabinet door. “They change these styles every five years or so, and this is the kind of cabinet they were using about 15 years ago.” (She’s right, Crowe confirms.)

Crowds like this feed the panic that stampedes prices through the refinished roof. Resisting that rush to the altar is crucial, according to seasoned pros like investment shoppers Mr. and Mrs. B. “People get caught up in what realtors say,” says Mr. B, “especially first-timers. We can afford to wait.”

Realtor Birkic, naturally, thinks that it all works out well in the end. “The Vancouver market has gone up since the ’40s,” Birkic insists. “There are steps backward as there were in the ’90s. But the market always comes back stronger eventually.”

Shortly after the open house, the West 14th condo would be sold to—a realtor. He bought it for his mother-in-law, paying several thousand dollars over the asking price.

Numerous offers were made for the East Broadway place, and it eventually sold for $263,000.
The $2 million Shaughnessy home with its walk-in closets, designer kitchen and cute, useless little attic rooms, was unsold as of press time. “But there’s been a lot of interest,” says Greg Carros. “Especially recently.”

Cash in those pop bottles.

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Read more in the Real Estate Trends 2006 series:


Where to Buy Now: Which neighbourhoods are on thr ise, and what, exactly does the future hold for this fast-evolving market? By Matt O'Grady and Chad Hershler

A Roof of One's Own: Are there any bargains left in Vancouver? Yes. We'll tell you where to find them and why the price is right. By Stanley Brunst, Tyee Bridge and Steve Burgess

Fluffing for Dollars: Home staging has become big business because it adds big bucks to the sale price. By Michael Harris