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Happy Holidays from Hoodsurf!

Happy Holidays to all of our readers from Hoodsurf!

We hope your homes are in Clark Griswold-esque shape for the season.

If you haven’t already, you can browse all our posts by category type (e.g. House and Condo Porn, Drop Zone) by clicking on the links under “Categories” in the right sidebar —–>

You can also filter posts by neighbourhood by clicking on the neighbourhood map in the right sidebar (or the neighbourhood tags at the top of each posts – e.g. Point Grey or Main Street).

Thanks for reading and we’ll return to regular posting in the New Year.

150 Millennium Water units will go on sale at reduced prices on February 12th

Bob Rennie did an interview with Global TV last night to discuss plans to restart sales at Millennium Water in 2011. The units have officially been taken off the market for the holidays while the receiver (Ernst & Young) sorts out details on the development.

We were hoping for specific price info, but apparently Mr. Rennie hasn’t gotten approval on the cuts from the receiver yet. That said, here are the interesting tidbits from the interview:

  • Approximately 150 units out of the 473 total will go back on the market on February 12, 2011.
  • Rennie says there will be “real price reductions” and that the pricing has to be competitive (which suggests serious reductions to match comparables nearby).
  • In another interview, city councilor Geoff Meggs mentioned a 20% price reduction as something that’s been thrown around by the media and developers. That said, it didn’t appear that this was a specific number, but rather a ballpark range.
  • A related Vancouver Sun article notes that Rennie hopes to sell 100 units by June 2011, but selling all 473 units could take up to three years.

So nothing groundbreaking, but at least everyone is coming to terms with the fact that the condos are simply too expensive compared to other inventory on the market.

We’ll keep our eyes out for specific numbers on price reductions for February.

Independent corner laneway house

We’re featuring pictures of laneway houses, to give you a peek at what they look like in practice.

This LWH has its own independent walkway to the sidewalk, showing one of the advantages of a corner lot for laneway housing.

It’s part of a new build, and we imagine we’ll be seeing laneways on many corner lots soon in the city’s single family zoned areas.

Multiple pictures below (click thumbnail for larger image):

photo credits:
hoodsurf

Flat roof society



This Arbutus Ridge modern sticks out among its pitched-roof peers.

We love flat roofs, but understand why they can be tricky in Vancouver (because, you know, it rains a lot).

But the modern angles always stop us in our tracks.

Multiple pics below (click thumbnail for larger version):

photo credits:
hoodsurf

Yet another odd facade

We’ve highlighted it before. We don’t get the whole classical facade on top of a stucco house move.

But we see it with some regularity in Vancouver.

This one’s a particularly odd choice, given that the house is on a corner lot and shows off the front facade as well as a totally unadorned side.

Multiple pictures showing the weird choice are below (click thumbnails for larger version):

photo credits:
hoodsurf

Disney in Arbutus Ridge

This Arbutus Ridge cottage looks like it would fit in a Disney animated picture, with its perfectly manicured lawn and oversized butterfly.

Granted, the neighbouring houses take away from the fantasy a bit. And we could use a talking dog or a duck wearing clothes to round things out.

Multiple pics below (click for larger version):

photo credits:
hoodsurf

Lived in by humans at Millennium Water

Here’s a relatively rare bird – a Millennium Water unit up for sale that looks like it’s actually been lived in.

We’ve seen lots of staged units and empty units for sale by individuals, but this is one of the first we’ve seen that shows the marks of human habitation (unless the stagers made some odd choices…).

Also – we feel for Realtors having to write copy for listings at the Olympic village development right now. It’s gotta be tricky writing positive things when everyone is so down on the mistakes made.

Multiple pics of the lived-in unit below (click for larger versions):

photo credits:
Karl Tsang of Power House Marketing

More laneway pricing info

This laneway house in the Riley Park/Little Mountain neighbourhood was part of a recent listing and sale (of the entire lot/home).

The listing gives another data point for laneway rental pricing in Vancouver.

According to the listing, the 500 square foot one bedroom plus den LWH is rented for $1350 a month plus utilities. That’s about $2.70 per square foot.

The house, including the rented LWH, sold quickly – and we hear it went for above its asking price of $998,000.

Check out multiple pics of the laneway and garden below (click for larger version):

photo credits:
Paul Eviston of Re/Max Select Properties

Disgruntled in Kerrisdale

Is it weird to personify houses?

Well, at risk of coming off like a crazy old lady who talks to cats as if they were human, we think this Kerrisdale cottage looks a bit put-off by its imposing and facaded neighbour.

Closer looks below (click thumbnail for larger version):


photo credits:
hoodsurf

1950′s preserved in Shaughnessy

This Shaughnessy home has some 1950′s time capsule elements – including an awesome bar in the rumpus room and a classic pool area.

Of course, it’s still Shaughnessy, so you’ll need $3,398,000 to relive a golden era.

Multiple pictures below (click for larger version):

photo credits:
Winnie Chung of Royal Pacific Realty

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