Laurel Qiu, a Royal LePage real estate agent, talked about what it takes to conduct deals involving top-tier housing on North Vancouver's most expensive street according to a news report on News United. Beachview Avenue is a North Vancouver residential street that is widely known for its luxurious houses as well as its waterfront views.
In an article on The Globe and Mail, Laurel Qiu: "This street is the most expensive street [in North Vancouver]." Her client is preparing to sell her house on the street. The "top-tier" houses on North Vancouver are highly in demand. She also said that she expects to list her client's house for more than $10-million as soon as the renovations are finished. The house situated just to the right of her client's property was recently sold for $10-million, whereas the house on the left is listed for $12.9-million.
The Globe and Mail interviewed Ms. Qiu about what it is really takes to sell multimillion-dollar houses as well as what you need to purchase one. Here's an excerpt of that interview:
Question: Tell me about selling on Beachview.
Ms. Qiu: "I've seen changes on this specific street. On the [waterfront] side of the street, almost every house has a dock, and you see so many new constructions - all the houses have been purchased to build a new house. Last year, there was a $9.78-million house sold, a $9.3-million house sold and an $8.10-million house sold, all on this side because of the water."
Q: Does that mean demand is high?
Ms. Qiu: "These kind of properties do not sell fast. [It takes] at least half a year to a full year to sell a property like this."
Q: Why does it take so long?
Ms. Qiu: "The audience is very small. There aren't that many people who have $10-million, and you have to wait until the right person comes from a certain country [to buy] - like China or the Middle East. And usually for a big house like this, the seller wants a longer time to complete a deal. Packing is a headache, moving is another one. So people realize they don't have to sell quickly and they can live here while they do the showings and agents' [open houses]. Houses like this don't do public opens."
Q: Are the buyers usually from outside Canada?
Ms. Qiu: "Yes, the buyers are mostly from overseas. For this kind of property [$10-million], they're coming to live here. For around $2-million in West Vancouver, they buy just for investment. For around $3-million or $4-million in Vancouver's west side, they may buy it and leave it empty. It depends what kind of investment they want."
Q: Do you ever see bidding wars for these superluxury houses?
Ms. Qiu: "Rarely. There isn't much competition. But for anything under $2-million in North Vancouver, you see bidding all the time. I tried to get a house for my client: It was listed for $779,000 and there were 12 offers competing for that house. It went up to $920,000. It's very, very hard. Under $1-million, you have to be so quick. Or under $4-million in an area like West Vancouver, they also go very fast."
Q: So does that mean buyers paying more than $5-million can take longer to look?
Ms. Qiu: "Yes. They have a larger scope to compare one house to another. For example, I have a client who is thinking either to buy the house next door [listed for nearly $13-million] or to buy an island somewhere. At a certain price range, they have more options and aren't focusing on only one city - so that takes a longer time [to decide]. And it takes a long time for them to get the money wired from a different county. It's not so easy to wire money. Each person can only wire $50,000 U.S. a year. It's very little compared to a $10-million house. If they have a foreign trade company, they can wire it from there. And if they convert the money to U.S. currency, for example, they can wire it from different channels."
