We have many clients with young families who need 3 bedrooms, want to stay in Vancouver ideally, yet cannot spend over $1-million. To say the least, it can be challenging to meet these criteria. Although the market is constantly changing, we are going to provide our top 10 examples we’ve either sold or noted on the market over the past while. These examples should provide some inspiration or ideas for those with these same needs.
2016 Franklin Street: Shawn Brown of our team sold this listing to his buyers for $999,999. It is a 1,516 square foot townhouse that was built in 2011. It was sold in October 2018. This cute townhouse is actually 4 bedrooms over 3 levels with a little front yard located just outside of Railtown on Franklin near Victoria Drive. This was a great buy.
1324 Cotton Drive: Completely overhauled and professionally re-designed, this stylish 3 bedroom townhouse is steps to the best blocks of Commercial Drive and located on a lovely and quiet street. Master bedroom gets killer views of downtown.
4086 Commercial Street: Brand new half duplex, front half on a quiet street. High ceilings, and not too far south – near 25th. Single car garage. Sold for $990,000 in March 2019.
6-1540 Grant Street: 2013-built, 1,322 square feet. Commercial Drive area 3-bedroom townhouse. Great windows and finished in a sleek, modern style. Sold for $978,000 in April 2019.
2-8598 River District Crossing: River District, big, concrete townhouse with high ceilings and 2 parking and a lot of natural light. Near brand new. Sold for $978,000 in July 2019.
2410 Dundas Street: Brand new, 1,568 square feet, contemporary townhouse with a large outdoor patio. Sold for $975,000 in March 2019.
1478 Cedar Cottage Mews: Unique, concrete, corner townhouse built in 2010 and Knight and Kingsway. This townhouse is located on the quiet laneway — not the busy streets nearby. Sold for $970,000 January 2019.
2525 Woodland Drive: Commercial Drive area, 4 bedroom townhouse built in 2012 with 2 parking and 1,513 square feet of living space. Sold for $949,000 June 2019.
1069 Scantlings: This is a leasehold near Granville Island. 1,366 square feet, totally renovated, building fully rainscreened, pre-paid lease of 2036. Unique and lovely property. Sold for $918,000 June 2019.
3-1638 E. Georgia Street: Charming end unit in a delightful complex at E Georgia and Commercial Drive. Built in 2006. 1,257 square feet, 2 parking spots. Sold for $968,000 in February 2019.
In the above ten examples, there are a few takeaways:
Almost all of these properties are quite new, and in good buildings. None of these buildings are in need of short or medium term large maintenance projects.
All but one are on the east side of Vancouver (east of Main). 1069 Scantlings is in the ‘Vancouver West’ sub-area, but is a leasehold. A leasehold may be something to consider, once a buyer understands how these properties work, and how long the remaining lease in in place for.
It wouldn’t be hard to find sub-$1M 3-bed options in the ‘River District’ neighbourhood, which is near Marine Drive and Boundary Road. However, most buyers don’t want to live this far south or this far east.
The ‘Hastings’ and ‘Commercial Drive’ areas are the best areas where the best 3-bedroom properties for under $1M exist. This is the key takeaway here.
The ‘Hastings’ sub-area refers to, approximately, the areas near Hastings outside of Railtown to as far east as Victoria – which is not that far east.
We feel these are all excellent options and these locations are very good, if not highly sought-after. As such, there are options for people facing this challenge. We are here, as always, to help you find solutions.