'No showing of property at seller's request': Land value behind $10.5M listing for Vancouver teardown
A modest, four-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom home on Vancouver's west side is currently listed for sale for more than $10 million, but prospective buyers aren't allowed to take a look inside.
"No showing of property at seller's request as it is being sold for land value only," reads the listing for 448 W. 41st Ave.
It's being pitched as a "prime and fantastic development/holding property" in Vancouver's rapidly developing Oakridge neighbourhood, which is designated as a "municipal town centre" in the city's Cambie Corridor Plan.
The centrepiece of the "town centre" is the massive and ongoing redevelopment of Oakridge mall, which is just a block away from the listed property.
- The Offer newsletter: Sign up for curated coverage of Canadian real estate
- Real estate news from CTVNews.ca
Numerous other redevelopment projects are also in progress in the area, including on either side of the property in question.
Any buyer looking to redevelop the home would need to first get the land rezoned, as the city's zoning map shows it and numerous other properties in the area are still zoned RS-1, meaning the only thing that can be built on them without approval from Vancouver City Council is a single-family detached home.
The city's rezoning policy for the property, however, indicates that council will consider changing the zoning to allow a tower of up to 18 storeys on the 680-square-metre (7,300-square-foot) site.
That redevelopment potential is the likely reason for the sky-high asking price.
Listing agent Cynthina Lo told CTV News the property is far from the only one on the market in the neighbourhood with similar redevelopment potential and a similar price.
Properties two blocks away at 5629, 5609 and 5583 Ash St. all have similar lot sizes and 18-storey-tower development potential. Each one is being offered for $10.5 million.
Other nearby properties have the potential to be redeveloped into smaller multi-unit buildings and are being offered for sale for upwards of $7 million.
"My client is not asking high," Lo said.
For its part, BC Assessment values the home at $2,724,400, well below the $10.5-million asking price. This reflects the fact that the property is subject to an exemption under section 19(8) of the Assessment Act, which allows properties to be assessed based on their current use, rather than their development potential.
To qualify for a section 19(8) exemption, a homeowner must have lived on the property continuously for the last 10 years, and must reapply for the exemption annually.
The vast majority of the property's assessed value comes from the land. The existing building on the site is assessed at just $34,400.
Correction
This story has been updated to reflect and explain the Assessment Act exemption that contributes to the property's lower assessed value. The property's current zoning has also been corrected. It is RS-1, not R-1.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.