‘don’t-always-go-up’:-bulk-of-metro-vancouver-presale-condos-sold-in-2022-and-2023-now-appraised-below-original-price
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‘Don’t always go up’: Bulk of Metro Vancouver presale condos sold in 2022 and 2023 now appraised below original price

ByJoanne Lee-Young

The Butterfly on Nelson Street in Vancouver Nov. 21, 2023. Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG Article content Thousands of presale buyers in Metro Vancouver face completing their purchase of condos that are now worth less than they were in 2022 and 2023 when they signed the contracts to buy them. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Vancouver Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Vancouver Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Sign In or Create an Account or Article content Article content More than half of the appraisals required by mortgage lenders to complete sales are now coming in at values lower than original sale prices. Article content As a result, lenders will only write smaller mortgages. That means condo buyers have to satisfy lenders by ponying up the difference between the unit’s value in 2022 or 2023 and what it is worth now, either by putting in more cash or refinancing. Article content Article content A Vancouver appraiser who works with banks, law firms and mortgage brokers is raising the alarm because the buildings are now built and developers are trying to finalize sales. Article content By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Article content “Presales don’t always go up. There was that mindset where if it happened before, it’s going to happen again,” said Adam Lawrenson, owner of Vancouver-based Adlaw Appraisals. “I can’t say an exact number, but over half (of appraisals) are now coming in below their sale price.” Article content He estimates condo values have dropped between five and 20 per cent below what buyers originally promised to pay when they put down a non-refundable deposit. Article content That’s one reason why a growing number of buyers are looking to sell these new or barely used properties. This market glut and a lack of demand is helping drive down prices. Article content “You can easily get a brand new unit or a one- or two-year (old) unit at a cheaper price point than these presales, so that comes into play when we are doing our appraisal and looking at current market values.” Article content Article content With sellers dropping prices to speed up sales, that sets a new base for future, lower, appraisals. Article content Article content No area in the Lower Mainland is immune, but there are some buildings and areas that are more susceptible to having units “being underwater.” Article content There are “areas of Langley that got overbuilt and developers were leaving them vacant for six to 12 months, in hopes the market would turn around. But you can only hold for so long before you have to start selling them,” Lawrenson said. Article content There are also a few buildings in north Burnaby where presale buyers are now looking to get rid of units as soon as they close their sale. Some have 30 listings of one-bedroom apartments. Article content There are also some higher-end buildings in downtown Vancouver, such as The Butterfly on Nelson Street, with presale units that sold at presale for over $2 million. Some of these have appraisals that are now down $300,000 to $500,000 from their original prices, said Lawrenson. Article content According to research by Rennie Intelligence, which does marketing for major developers, investors made up around half of all buyers in the years between 2021 to 2023.

plan-for-3-towers-next-to-commercial-broadway-station-finally-heads-to-public-hearing
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Plan for 3 towers next to Commercial-Broadway station finally heads to public hearing

BySimon Little

After nearly a decade of proposals, pushback and debate, a plan to build a set of towers next to one of Metro Vancouver’s busiest transit hubs is getting a public hearing. About 100 people have signed up to speak for and against the proposed redevelopment of a Safeway lot next to the Commercial-Broadway SkyTrain station. The plan before council envisions three towers, with heights of 44, 38 and 37 storeys, comprising 1,044 rental homes. 2:14 Drastic changes made to Broadway-Commercial Safety redevelopment plan Ten per cent of those units would be secured at city-wide average market rates, while the remainder would lease for going market rates. Story continues below advertisement The proposal has generated strong feelings on both sides, with supporters arguing more housing is critically needed, particularly near transit, and opponents arguing the units won’t be affordable. “Vancouver has a crushing shortage of housing. For decades, we have not been building enough housing, and this neighbourhood, Grandview Woodlands, is a great example of this, we basically haven’t built much new housing there since the 1970s, and as a result the population there is actually declining … despite the fact this SkyTrain station we are talking about is one fo the busiest transit hubs in the country,” Peter Waldkirch, director of Abundant Housing, told CKNW’s The Jill Bennett Show. “Burnaby just proposed an 80-storey tower … it’s actually quite perverse, it’s backwards that we are building bigger and taller buildings than this in the suburbs than we are in the heart of the city.” Get daily National news Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Opponents like Craig Ollenberger, chair of the Grandview Woodland Area Council, say the proposed secured market rental requirement is far too low. A rendering of the trio of proposed towers for Commercial and Broadway in Vancouver. City of Vancouver 2:05 Public hearings on controversial East Vancouver development postponed again Speaking on CKNW’s The Jas Johal Show, he said the city should look to replicate what it did in the Broadway Plan, which is 20 per cent of units at 20 per cent below market rates. Story continues below advertisement “It is bringing nothing but 1,000 luxury rental units to our community, suites that nobody will be able to afford. And for that the city is only asking for 10 per cent of the units to be at market rent,” he said. “This community, the majority of people can’t afford market rent.” The proposed redevelopment would also include a 37-space child care facility, a ground-level public plaza and an upper-level courtyard. Trending Now The development has been contentious ever since it was first put forward in 2016, as part of the broader Grandview-Woodland Community Plan approved by the council led by then-mayor and now federal Housing Minister Gregor Robertson. Neighbourhood groups had rejected a previous version of the community plan, arguing it would radically change the neighbourhood’s character, and the pushback led to a municipal citizens’ assembly whose feedback was eventually integrated into the revised 2016 plan, which included a maximum tower height of 24 storeys. A proposal for the Safeway site envisioned two towers, one of them hitting that threshold. 2:04 Grandview Woodland development tour A subsequent version of the proposal, with the tallest tower reaching 30 storeys and composed mostly of condos, nearly made it to a public hearing in 2022, but was sidelined by the 2022 municipal election. Story continues below advertisement “The economics have changed. Rents were lower a few years ago … interest rates were lower … community expectations were different. I think when this project started getting negotiated, you could argue against the need for more housing more successfully,” said Tom Davidoff, an associate professor of economics at UBC’s Sauder School of Business. Davidoff said the pressure to get new units built and to comply with the provincial and federal governments’ transit-oriented density requirements will likely weigh in the project’s favour. The site would sit virtually on top of the intersection of two SkyTrain lines and the 99-B Line bus route. It’s TransLink’s third-busiest transit hub, and saw more than 6.2 million boardings in 2023. “If you can’t have density at the intersection of streets named Commercial and Broadway, where there is a major transit intersection, I don’t know where you want people to go,” Davidoff said. With scores of people signed up to speak, Wednesday’s hearing could go late into the evening, — with files from Alissa Thibault &copy 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

over-900-homes-in-towers-up-to-39-storeys-for-downtown-eastside
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Over 900 homes in towers up to 39 storeys for Downtown Eastside

ByKenneth Chan

This three-tower project could fulfill roughly 10% of the Government of British Columbia’s total target of catalyzing affordable homes for middle-income households through the new BC Builds program. In the process, it would also revitalize the easternmost end of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, bringing new life to an area specifically named the East Village. The significant project would be the first of a number of major housing redevelopments envisioned for this segment of East Hastings Street towards Commercial Drive. The three properties for this particular project are located on an approximate one-city block stretch of East Hastings Street between Glen Drive and Vernon Drive. Tower 1 will be a 373-ft-tall, 38-storey building at 1030-1070 East Hastings Street, which is a vacant site immediately adjacent to the CN railway at the southwest corner of the intersection of Glen Drive and East Hastings Street. This site is the westernmost site of the three properties. Tower 1 will contain 382 secured purpose-built market rental homes, with a unit size mix of 135 studio units, 141 one-bedroom units, 93 two-bedroom units, and 13 three-bedroom units. Nearly 5,000 sq ft of retail/restaurant space will activate the building’s East Hastings Street frontage, and three live/work units will front Glen Drive. Three sites for the East Village on East Hastings Street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. (ZGF Architects/Westbank/Promerita/BC Housing) Three sites for the East Village on East Hastings Street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. (ZGF Architects/Westbank/Promerita/BC Housing) Concept for the East Village on East Hastings Street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. (ZGF Architects/Westbank/Promerita/BC Housing) Tower 2 will be just around the corner from Tower 1. It will be located at 1115-1127 East Hastings Street, which is the northeast corner of the intersection of Glen Drive and East Hastings Street. Old, low-storey commercial buildings currently occupy this site. Tower 2 is envisioned as the tallest and largest of the three towers, at 390 feet and 39 storeys. Tower 2 will contain 383 secured purpose-built market rental homes, with a unit size mix of 165 studio units, 123 one-bedroom units, 77 two-bedroom units, and 20 three-bedroom units. There will also be nearly 8,000 sq ft of retail/restaurant space, primarily at ground level, to activate the building’s frontages with East Hastings Street and Glen Drive. Tower 1; Concept for the East Village on East Hastings Street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. (ZGF Architects/Westbank/Promerita/BC Housing) Tower 2; Concept for the East Village on East Hastings Street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. (ZGF Architects/Westbank/Promerita/BC Housing) Tower 2 (left) and Tower 1 (right); Concept for the East Village on East Hastings Street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. (ZGF Architects/Westbank/Promerita/BC Housing) While Tower 1 and Tower 2 are highly similar in uses and size, Tower 3 will be markedly different, with a shorter height of 195 ft and 19 storeys. Tower 3’s site of 1168-1180 East Hastings Street is the easternmost parcel of the three-site project, situated immediately east of Pink Peal Chinese Restaurant. Two low-storey structures currently occupy the site, including the 1905-built, three-storey Vernon Apartments SRO with 36 units. Tower 3 will contain 157 social housing units dedicated to seniors, with a unit size mix of 42 studio units, 79 one-bedroom units, and 36 larger one-for-one replacement SRO studio units. There will be higher levels of affordability with these homes rented at shelter, Housing Income Limits, and Low-and-Moderate Income Limit rates. There will also be a 2,300 sq ft social enterprise space fronting East Hastings Street. Tower 3; Concept for the East Village on East Hastings Street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. (ZGF Architects/Westbank/Promerita/BC Housing) Tower 3; Concept for the East Village on East Hastings Street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. (ZGF Architects/Westbank/Promerita/BC Housing) All three towers will feature a combined total of 924 homes, including 767 secured purpose-built market rental homes for middle-income households in Tower 1 and Tower 2 and 157 units of social housing for seniors, which is purposefully equivalent to over 20% of the project’s market rental homes as a public benefit. Overall, about 80% of the homes across all three buildings will be considered affordable for households with incomes below $80,000. These three towers in the East Village are a joint partnership between local developer Westbank, local investment firm Promerita, and the provincial government through BC Housing. Westbank and Promerita will own and operate Tower 1 and Tower 2, and they have already transferred ownership of the Tower 3 social housing site to BC Housing for a nominal fee. Westbank will be the lead developer responsible for the rezoning, development, and construction process of all three towers. ZGF Architects is the project’s design firm. Each tower represents a different rezoning application, but they will be considered together. All three applications have been submitted, and the review process is now set to enter formal public consultation. “BC Housing, through BC Builds, is very interested in participating in the proposed creation of new rental housing at the East Village with Promerita, Westbank, and a future non-profit operator, however, BC Housing’s final participation is further contingent on City Council rezoning approval as well as settlement of the final negotiated business terms amongst the parties,” reads a letter of support written to the City by Mike Pistrin, the vice president of development and asset strategies for BC Housing. “One of these milestones have been achieved and BC Housing has certainty regarding the inclusion of affordable rental units being approved, final project approval by our executive committee and associated boards will

vancouver-chinatown-project-pivots-from-condos-to-social-housing
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Vancouver Chinatown project pivots from condos to social housing

ByKenneth Chan

The Brickhouse development site on the southern edge of Vancouver’s historic Chinatown will be pivoting into a 100% social housing project for its residential uses, removing all of the previous strata market ownership condominium uses. This follows the property’s sale to the Hogan’s Alley Society last year. As previously reported by Daily Hive Urbanized in April 2024, Bonnis Properties sold their property at 796 Main Street and City’s 2021-approved development plans to Hogan’s Alley Society in November 2023, with the non-profit organization paying the developer $20 million. On the same day the deal was finalized, the federal government’s Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) provided Hogan’s Alley Society with a $25.2 million mortgage. The property is a 12,800 sq ft lot that is largely vacant but contains several small structures — the 1910-built two-storey building fronting Main Street, which contains the Brickhouse Late Night Bistro and Dive Bar, and a 1925-built single-storey building fronting Union Street, which previously housed the Jimi Hendrix shrine. Location of the approved design for 728-796 Main Street, in relation to the future developments on the city-owned blocks to the south, including Hogan’s Alley (right city block). (Studio One Architecture/Bonnis Properties) Brickhouse development site of 796 Main Street in Vancouver’s Chinatown. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive) Artistic rendering of the 2021-approved design for 728-796 Main Street, Vancouver. (Studio One Architecture/Bonnis Properties) This week, the City of Vancouver noted it had received an application to allow a change in residential tenure to 100% social housing. The building’s height will also increase slightly from 116 ft to 127 ft, which will enable more floor space — an increase in the floor area ratio (FAR) density from a floor area that is 6.79 times larger than the size of the lot to a density of 7.4 FAR. Other details on the revised project are not available at this time. This application, first submitted in June 2024, is being considered under the City’s Affordable Housing Policies. In February 2021, after a long delay, the previous makeup of Vancouver City Council approved Bonnis Properties’ rezoning application to redevelop 796 Main Street into an 11-storey building with 94 homes, including 75 strata market condominium homes and 19 social housing units, as well as over 6,000 sq ft of retail/restaurant uses. Artistic rendering of the 2021-approved design for 728-796 Main Street, Vancouver. (Studio One Architecture/Bonnis Properties) Brickhouse development site of 796 Main Street in Vancouver’s Chinatown. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)