One Downtown realtor’s top investment picks this month

Jun 11 2019, 3:26 am

We’re halfway through 2019 and Vancouver real estate continues to be a hot topic, with overall pricing a key point of discussion.

There are many statistics estimating how much prices have dropped in Vancouver during the past year, however, these stats are often too general or bias to be fully reliable. But top realtors working ‘on the ground’ can provide an accurate depiction of this.

That’s why we spoke with real estate expert, Shawn Brown of West Haven Group. In his latest Market Insights video, Brown takes us through his top downtown investment picks.

To get a clear sense of what each of the following properties would have sold for at the peak, Brown chooses the most relevant sold comparable and then uses it to estimate what the current investment would have been worth at that time (late 2017/early 2018).

Here’s a look at the top four downtown properties.

207-150 East Cordova Street

207-150 East Cordova/West Haven Group

In March 2018, an identical unit was sold for $595,000. Brown explains how this suite was recently listed at $525,000, but it didn’t sell. The property is set to be re-listed soon, and he says a “reasonable market value” might be $515,000.

If this is accurate, Brown states that it would be a price drop of 13%.

403-53 West Hastings Street

West Haven realtor Brown explains that a unit which was very similar, albeit slightly larger and one floor higher than that pictured above, sold for $660,000 in February 2018.

If suite 403 had sold for $640,000 at the time, it would translate to a 14% decline based on what it sold for this month — $547,500.

201-933 East Hastings Street

201-933 East Hastings/West Haven Group

Although Brown says that this building wasn’t completed during the peak, the closest comparable property is a two-bedroom, one-bathroom unit at 231 East Pender Street. The comparable unit was larger and closer to downtown, but it only had one bathroom, no views, and a small patio.

In early April 2018, it sold for $780,000. Brown points out that the East Hastings suite 201 has been priced at $708,800 for quite some time. If the unit sells for $700,000, it would result in a 10% decline in value.

232-188 Keefer Place

232-188 Keefer Place/West Haven Group

In April 2018, Brown listed this property for $1,249,000 and immediately got a full price offer. However, the seller pulled out. Fast-forward to 2019 and the property is listed again — now at $1,169,000.

Brown feels that the property is worth $1,150,000 or more. And if it sells at the current price, it results in a reduction of 7.9%.

Based on these specific examples, Brown says that downtown condo prices in the more ‘achievable’ price bracket have declined between eight to 14%.


For more information and to get the latest real estate updates, check out Shawn Brown on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.

Editor’s note: The headline of this article has been adjusted to more accurately describe the content in-body.

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