Real Estate Information and Market Trends| Real Estate Victoria BC

Victoria Real Estate like Bear Mountain development and the Bayview development are attracting buyers from all over the world. A recent article in the Times Colonist by Bill Cleverley reads;

Half-million-dollar entry-level condos may seem exorbitant to locals, but they’re dirt cheap to many international buyers, say realtors.

Dale Sproule, director of real estate at Langford’s Bear Mountain resort community, has been travelling to the Middle East, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S., where he says interest in Bear Mountain is high.

“I have a couple of clients from the U.K. who own what they call a row-house in downtown London. Their value there is $3.5 million. They can get twice the property here for half the price,” Sproule said.

In London, he said, properties sell for $5,000 a square foot — three times what they go for here.

Since 2003, when the first house was completed, the Bear Mountain development has gradually transformed a rural area on Skirt Mountain in Langford’s north end into a neighbourhood of high-priced homes, low-storey and highrise condo buildings, a Westin hotel and private golf course. A village centre with commercial/retail space and second golf course are being built.

In his marketing drive, Sproule has even travelled to Dubai, a trip that led to a Bear Mountain visit last week by a delegation of Saudi Arabians.

He will travel to the U.K. in September and has an invitation to address a large conference in Indonesia in November.

That’s not to say many lots at Bear Mountain are being snapped up by foreign buyers, he said.

“It’s 95 per cent Canadian. But it’s changing,” Sproule said. The moneyed, international buyer is looking for large properties, he said.

“They’re more looking for estates. The single-family lot doesn’t really interest them that much. But if I had something at $1 million, I could sell it tomorrow — if it was big enough and had the view. At our Compass Pointe [development at Bear Mountain], for example, we had 14 lots up there at $1 million to $1.7 million. We have two left.”

Those sales all occurred in the last three months, he said.

Sproule emphasized that Bear Mountain is not just for the rich — the community will offer condos next year priced at under $400,000. “Those are directed, to the large part, at the younger buyer,” he said.

Entry-level prices for the latest development in the Bear Mountain community — four condominium towers ranging from 27 storeys to 45 storeys — will be in the $500,000 range, although Vancouver-based developer Robert Quigg wouldn’t disclose the prices of upper-end units. Units in the towers will be between 800 square feet and 5,000 square feet.

Typically, Quigg said, buyers in his projects are owner-users with more than one home.

“We’ve had an international-buyer clientele for a long time, but what’s really interesting for us in the last few years is that the bulk of our buyers have been British Columbians. It’s been a change over the past few years that we’ve had more British Columbians than international purchasers,” Quigg said.

High-end real estate isn’t just moving in Bear Mountain. Last month alone, four condos in Greater Victoria sold for more than $1 million each. Another 14 sold for $800,000 or more.

Just who is buying what is not clear. The last figures the Victoria Real Estate Board crunched were from 2005, said Mike Sampson, board manager of communications.

Those showed the vast number of Greater Victoria home purchasers — 76 per cent — were from the region. Twelve per cent were from elsewhere in B.C., nine per cent from elsewhere in Canada and only three per cent from out of country (two-thirds of those were from the U.S.).

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PRICE RANGES

- Home sites

- 1 to 1.5 acres

- $250,000 to $1.7 million

- Townhomes

- 2,800 to 3,600 square feet

- $1.4 million to $1.6 million

- Condominiums

- Low- and high-rise condos

- 530 to 1,800 square feet

- $350,000 to more than $2.4 million

- Executive Fractional Ownership

- 950 to 2,600 square feet

- $89,900 to $299,000 for a one-quarter share

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MILESTONES IN DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW COMMUNITY

- Fall 2001 — A contractor working on Len Barrie’s home fells 28 trees at the rear of his property — trees that turn out to belong to neighbouring Royal Colwood Golf Club. The club takes Barrie to court and revokes his golf membership. Barrie resolves to build his own course.

- December 2001 — Barrie purchases the property on Skirt Mountain in the Langford-Highlands area that is now Bear Mountain Resort.

- 2002 — Construction begins on Jack Nicklaus co-designed “Mountain” golf course and temporary clubhouse. Thirty-seven residential lots go up for sale and are purchased for $5.6 million.

- August 2003 — Bear Mountain Golf and Country Club opens.

- September 2003 — First home completed, occupied.

- October 2003 — Groundbreaking for the Fairways building, the first phase of the resort complex.

- November 2003 — The Ridge and Highwood Park homesites are sold.

- January 2004 — Skyline Park townhomes sold.

- May 2004 — Quail’s Run, Timberview, Deerwood Park and Nature’s Gate homesites sold

- June 2004 — Construction begins on the 160,000 square foot clubhouse building.

- December 2004 — Fairways Hotel building opens with 65 rooms, offered as quarter shares.

- March 2005 — Construction begins on the Nicklaus-designed “Valley” golf course.

- July 13, 2005 — Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., announces franchise agreement with Bear Mountain Resort.

- Fall 2005 — Mountainside Athletic Club opens.

- Nov. 12, 2005 — Finlayson Reach and St. Andrews Walk condominiums sell out, totalling $134 million.

- June 8, 2006 — Opening of The Westin Bear Mountain Victoria Golf Resort & Spa.

- Nov. 12, 2006 — Highlander, Stonehaven and Soaring Peaks are introduced to the marketplace.

- May 2007 — Construction begins on Highlander and Soaring Peaks.

- May 23, 2007 — Vancouver-based developer Robert Quigg announces a $1.4-billion community, with four highrise towers, to be created within the larger Bear Mountain community. End of article.

We at Properties In Victoria Professionals see the same trend with buyers coming from all over the world. We just recently had investors her from England that purchased two suites in the Bayview project and one in the Falls.

You can contact us anytime should you have any questions about Victoria Real Estate.

 Cheers, Anders

Anders Treiberg, REALTOR®

Properties In Victoria Professionals- Royal LePage Coast Capital Realty

Anders Treiberg has been a REALTOR® in Victoria, BC. since 1990. He has extensive Real Estate Expertise and can be reached on his website www.PropertiesInVictoria.com