Buying a Slice: An Exploration of the real estate market in the Alma Dunbar Corridor

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1 Buying a Slice: An Exploration of the real estate market in the Alma Dunbar Corridor Alex and Rae are a young couple looking to buy an apartment or small home in the Alma Dunbar area. The location is ideal for both of them as Rae is completing his Masters degree at UBC and Alex is a nurse at VGH (Vancouver General Hospital). As young professionals with bright futures, they are looking to set themselves up for the future in an area they could settle down in permanently. They ve contacted Grace, a local and well respected realtor, to help them with their search. Grace: So what kind of home are you looking for and what kind of budget do we have to work with? Rae: Alex had a lovely great aunt who gifted us with enough money to afford a nice home within Vancouver. We have about $1.75 million we can spend on a home and that s our upper limit. We are looking for a two story home with 3 or 4 bedrooms, and at least 2 bathrooms. We also would like a covered, two car garage. Alex: What kind of prices are we looking at and what options do we have? Grace: Well 3 4 bedrooms will cost you quite a bit, are you flexible about the 2 car garage at all? Rae: We would really like a two car garage, but we would be open to looking at homes that only have a one car garage, but an area to park our second car on our property, we do not want to have to park a car on the street. Grace: The average house prices in this area for 3 4 bedroom start at 3.2 million (at the low end) but most go for about 4 or 5 million, whereas two bedroom homes start at 2 million. Condos and apartments are more common and ones with 2 or 3 bedrooms typically range between 800,000 to 1.5 million depending on the types of finishings you are looking for. Alex: Wow, well maybe we ll get lucky and find a house that works for us within our budget. Ideally, we would like a house as we are currently living in a condo and need more space. Also, we would like to have a front and back yard. Grace: Hmmm, it ll be challenging, but we will see what we can do however you will have to make quite a few compromises. Rae: We ve looked around this area before and have several friends live in the neighbourhood too. The parks are a definite interest for us, are their any homes for sale close to one? Grace: You re right, there is a lot of local green space in the neighbourhood which is fantastic. Maybe you don t need a large backyard because you have a few public parks that are located within a minute or two s walk. However, that also means that homes closer to parks are

2 generally more expensive. If you re comfortable looking closer to some of the main streets and a bit farther from the parks we might find something more within your budget. Alex: Yes, we are open to looking at something a bit closer to the main street, however we do not want to hear a lot of traffic or be right on a busy street. We do like the idea of having shops and transit close to us. Rae: I think that we would like a bit of a yard, so that when we have children (in the future) they will be happy in our home. Grace: We will see what we can do in regards to the yard but keep in mind that while your budget is quite big, this area is rather pricey and you ll be paying a premium for every item on your wish list and most homes in the area exceed your budget and so you will have to compromise. Alex: Ok, well how about you show us some options that are in our budget and we see what is available and how they fit into what we are looking for. Grace: Well let s have a walk around and I will show you a few different options, I think you ll find that the busier streets aren t all that bad, they have a lot of local businesses and there are much more options for transit. Broadway and Alma are both relatively busy streets with small businesses that offer a range of services such as coffee shops, artisan bakeries, spas,boutiques, a dentist office, convenience stores and restaurants etc. Most people in the area are working professionals, university students and established seniors who mostly live in condos or apartments. While Broadway and Alma can be quite busy they both offer transit options and make for a very convenient commute both into the downtown core and to UBC. This area is highly sought after by students so your investment in the area would pay off especially if you decided to sell or rent. Remember this area is coming up so you want to get in before prices get higher, and there are a lot of good schools relatively close by and the beach is about a 10 minute walk! Rae: Sure, let s see what you have found for us.

3 Grace: Here we have a nice home, but it could do with a bit of updating. It is a bit smaller than you d ideally like with only two bedrooms, although you could convert the office into a small guest bedroom. It s also around your budget! I ll leave you two to look around by yourselves. Alex: To Rae This place is a dump! For 1.75 million we are paying for a home that hasn t been updated since the 1970s? Wood panelled walls, no granite counters and it doesn t even have that many bedrooms. Rae: To Alex You re right, but I do love the location and we could fix it for relatively little. Plus, since we re so close to UBC maybe we could save some money by you using your U Pass and taking the bus! I think we could make an offer, just think of this house in terms of its potential rather than its drawbacks. Alex: To Rae Alright, I ll think about it. But I do have a few more questions about the house and the previous owners. To Grace When was this property last inspected for safety? What were the results like?

4 Grace: Ummmm, according my notes here it was last inspected in You d have to go out of pocket to check on the present status of the building, I have a list (A termite runs across the floor) Of recommended inspectors if you like. Alex: Erhm great. Thanks, I ll take that list if you wouldn t mind. Rae: And the previous homeowners, who are they? Grace: This neighbourhood is in transition, there a mix of ages, especially since a lot of students rent in the area as well. You re lucky, you have some undergraduate students living in the house next door. It s their first year of university and boy are they are really looking forward to getting started in September. The people who owned this home are older and they re are retiring to Arizona (mainly to get away from these rowdy students). Alex: Okay, and where is the garage? Grace: There is an overhang which is large enough to protect one car, you might have to park one of your other cars on the street unfortunately. The area is also equipped with a major bus hub, so you can get to UBC, VGH or downtown with relative ease. Rae: Oh that sounds like a decent alternative! Alex: Well thanks for showing us this home, it s something we re thinking about seriously. I d like to see another alternative if you wouldn t mind. Grace: Certainly, let s go check out the other property I have lined up for you to visit! It s just down the way.. So this home was recently redone, it has LEED Platinum Certification, seismic upgrading and is close to two different parks and has basically everything you re looking for: 3 4 bedrooms, a large backyard, a two car garage. Rae and Alex: Together WOW! This is great!

5 Alex: I almost forgot to ask, how much is it? Grace: That s the thing about this place, it s a bit above your budget. The cost is around 7.35 million. Alex: What the h Grace: While I know that this is much higher above your budget, the two types of homes I have show you in this neighbourhood are representative of the whole area. There are options for you to get a mortgage and you already have enough money for a damage deposit. Alex: I appreciate your frankness, so in your opinion is there a reasonable property we could find in the area or should we look elsewhere? Grace: In my professional opinion, in terms of value I would look to finding a home in one of the suburbs of Vancouver where you can get a nice home for a reasonable amount of money. Alternatively, you could buy a larger condo in the area as there is a fair amount of high density buildings, but in terms of the space you re looking for I m not sure if there would be anything

6 large enough. Remember that you could always rent out a bedroom or even buy a smaller condo and park on the street as you can see the streets are quite wide and the neighbourhoods are generally quiet with a lot of people out and about walking their dogs or jogging. While the apartment buildings may appear older on the outside some have newer interiors and remember that 1.7 is not a lot for this area.

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8 Rae: (To Alex) I still kind of like the 1.75 million home. I just really wanna live in Vancouver and this neighbourhood specifically. Alex: (To Rae) I m not sure babe, maybe let s look at Burnaby or somewhere in East Van. Grace, would you be able to show us some homes in these areas? Grace: No. The low commision isn t worth it, BYE!