Vancouver home last sold for $3.1M becomes half duplex listed for $4.5M

A Vancouver home previously assessed at $3,397,600 will soon be a duplex, with just one half listed at $4,500,000.

The home that once stood at 5061 Blenheim Street in Vancouver will soon be a distant memory, but a listing for one side of the duplex shows how much investors can make off of their land if specific zoning requirements are met.

The new listing has led to some contentious real estate debate on social media about density versus affordability.

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Listed on Tuesday by Macdonald Realty, the duplex is expected to be built in 2025 and features 3,335 sq ft of space, much larger than the previous home, which has stood on that land since 1925. The three-storey duplex will feature four bedrooms and four bathrooms.

On January 1, 2022, the former home was sold for $3,128,000. If the second half of the duplex sells for as much as the first half has been listed for, the sale of the full duplex would see a gain of $5,872,000.

According to BC Assessment, the land is valued at $3,353,000, and the former buildings were only worth $44,600.

The listing states the new home will be “luxury and comfort defined,” featuring top-of-the-line appliances and even a private elevator.

You could have bought this older, entire house for $3.1 million in 2022

Now you can buy a new half duplex on the same site for $4.5 million

Look at how all that density creates affordability…but I guess it is about $ per ppl living on the land that matters according to some pic.twitter.com/pV0rc2gp16

— Mortimer (@mortimer_1) April 9, 2024

Many people have chimed in about the home on social media, where a conversation about density and affordability has sparked.

Density increases the affordability of everything else, not the new stuff (which is brand new, highly desirable, and sells for a premium).

— Peter Dowdy (@__cosmopolite__) April 10, 2024

Some don’t see it as much of a problem.

So, you’re getting a brand house instead of an ancient one for the same price per square foot, and that’s a bad thing?
Regardless, list price is not the same as sale price. Someone who spends a lot of time watching the real estate market should know that.

— Denis Trailin (@DenisTrailin) April 10, 2024

Others have called it another case of the rich getting richer.

So your telling me the policies put in place to increase density for affordability reasons makes the rich richer!!!!! What a shocker……not. Good luck to the person who bought an apartment dreaming of upsizing to a house one day. Dream is dead

— Arian Akesteh (@AAkesteh) April 10, 2024

How do you feel about this development? Do you think the density is worth it in exchange for affordability in cases like this?