Home buyers haven’t been spooked by the latest jitters rippling through financial markets, according to White Rock-based Azura Management Corp.
Azura recently launched the second phase of Aviva, a 64-unit townhome development in Port Coquitlam. Aviva was originally launched by Brixton Development Ltd. in 2007, but financial challenges led to Azura assuming control of the project following completion of the first phase.
“Absorptions aren’t at the peak by any means, but everything’s fairly steady,” said Trent Blackwell, vice-president with Azura. “We’re getting good turnouts even though it’s summer. But it’s not like people are lining up right now to make offers. The consumer is still shopping around.”
Taking over projects from other developers is a common strategy for Azura, which also assumed control of the Pepin Brook development in Abbotsford and La Casa, a 200-cottage recreational project near Kelowna that it brought to market in 2005.
“We get contacted at times by banks and various other agencies when they have developments that are distressed or projects that are distressed,” Blackwell said. “With our expertise, we are called in to help reposition them, fix them up and market them.”
Many of the projects were originally launched by smaller developers, allowing Azura to keep a low profile while keeping busy.
Blackwell expects to keep busy even as new jitters ripple through markets.
“We are finding that there is enough confidence right now, and I think a lot of people still feel like they are getting a good deal,” he said.
“We do still have a lot of people entering the market, so I think that we’re fairly good in that sense. A lot of people look down the road and also think what will happen as land becomes less and less available, will they be able to get in?”
The latest figures from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver are a counterpoint to the steady interest Azura is seeing in Port Coquitlam.
The total number of listings in the region rose in July 2011, giving buyers greater selection and breathing room when it came to making a purchase decision.
The average days-on-market for listings was 41, region-wide, pushing sales tallies below the 10-year average for July.
The greater number of listings and leisurely pace of sales is reflected in a slight slip in the region’s benchmark sales price.
The benchmark price is now $630,251, down 0.1% from June’s benchmark price. That’s 30.2% greater than at the benchmark price of $484,211 at the end of 2008.
The dip in the benchmark price also throws a grain of salt at the bold prediction from Royal LePage that Vancouver home prices will continue rising and close 2011 an average of 15.4% higher than they were at the end of 2010.
Real estate board figures indicate the benchmark price in July is just 9.1% higher than in December 2010, though prices of detached homes – if any – are the most likely to buoy the overall average with increases in Vancouver proper in excess of 28%.
UBC Okanagan is preparing for the start of school next month with the completion of the final two buildings in an ambitious, multi-year development program.
The six-year-old campus north of Kelowna has shed its rustic roots as Okanagan University College to become an urbane destination adjacent to the Kelowna International Airport.
The final two buildings in the $450 million development program include a 46,000-square-foot health science centre and 156,000-square-foot engineering-management education complex.The value of the two projects is close to $110 million, representing a significant economic stimulus for Kelowna during the ongoing slump in residential construction.
While student residences remain under construction, the two buildings round out the academic buildings on a campus that boasts an enrolment of more than 7,600 students and hosts conferences during the off-season in its state-of-the-art lecture halls.