subject: Flashy New Condo And Hotel Property In The Works [print this page] Burnaby is getting a flashy new condominium tower at Willingdon Avenue and Kingsway. Dale and Colin Bosa, from the self-named Bosa properties did the honors at the groundbreaking ceremony this past week, and now its up to the heavy machinery and construction workers to finish the job.
The thing is, the construction crews were already at work and so speedy that they were already on the parkades third level. Dubbed the Sovereign, the building will eventually be 500 feet tall. Completion date is sometime in the spring of 2014. All 202 units are sold out, with the $98 million worth of real estate spoken for in a mere six hours in February.
The building will also house 90,000 square feet of office and retail space, and feature a hotel with 169 rooms under the Starwood Hotels and Resorts label. The tower will be built with the environment in mind and will carry Starwoods Element brand, given to those properties that are built to be green. The developers are going for a LEED certification as well, which translated means Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.
Bosa believes that part of the interest comes from people wanting to stay away from investments in the United States and Europe. Canada is seen as a safe investment haven, and also is known for quality of work.
Real Estate Listings Jump, but Sales Trail
Although Vancouver enjoyed its most active August in 16 years in terms of home listings, the sales did not quite follow. Per new data from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, the average price for a typical home that was sold in this time period increased by 8.5 percent to a total of $625,578.
August listings skyrocketed by 25 percent versus a year ago to 4,685. Sales for all types of housing units grew by eight percent to 2,378 dwellings. However, this number represents the third lowest August total in the past ten years.
Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver president Rosario Setticasi said that the numbers represent what he called the low end of the balanced market. He said that for the past three months, Vancouver has been leaning toward being a buyers market.
Versus year-ago benchmark prices increased, but prices for single-family dwellings experienced a modest decline in August and July. In terms of price increases, West Vancouver was the beneficiary, with a 26.7 increase versus August 2010. Prices in the Richmond area also escalated, with 22.4-percent growth.
The Fraser Valley experienced a huge increase in both sales and listings, with a 35-percent jump in transactions and a 26-percent increase in listings versus a year ago. Sales in this area also grew versus July. Fraser Valley Real Estate Board president Sukh Sidhu said that the conditions in the Valley are attributable to some softening in home prices, favourable interest rates, as well as the introduction of new inventory. The benchmark cost of a Fraser Valley single-family home was $528,959 in August, representing a 3.7-percent increase versus the figure reported for August of last year.
