Signs of strength
Perspective is key to a deeper understanding of anything, whether it’s a location or a trend.
Waiting tables in a roadhouse on the shores of Kluane Lake in October 1990, this columnist heard then-CBC radio host Jurgen Goethe touting the wonders of B.C.’s wine country. The talk of sun-dappled vineyards and unfrozen lakes was welcome as the Yukon winter closed in.
A decade later, the Osoyoos Indian Band was hatching plans with Vincor Canadafor Nk’Mip Cellarson the benchland above Lake Osoyoos and drafting plans for an ambitious resort development.
Today, both the winery and resort are realities and plans are afoot for private residences at Spirit Ridge Vineyard Resort and Spa and a second resort adjacent to Canyon Desert golf course in Oliver.
The band’s developments are arguably the most successful – so far as actual construction goes – of the many projects envisioned for the Okanagan over the last decade. Of the billion dollars of real estate development planned for Osoyoos, much less was built as housing markets cooled in 2008 and demand dropped. Watermark Beach Resort in downtown Osoyoos, select projects north to Kelowna and the dogged development of Predator Ridge near Vernon are the exceptions that hint at the valley’s promise.
Now buyers are again making good on that promise for developers.
Chilliwack’s Van Maren Group has seen strong sales this spring in the first phase of its Cottages on Osoyoos Lake, which will ultimately have 284 detached cottages. Since sales relaunched in February, the project has sold 16 units (an initial offering last year attracted 30 pre-sales, but deposits were refunded in September while Van Maren reworked the project and built show homes).
Also since last fall, 13 of the 17 units offered at Canyon Desert Golf Resort have sold. Most sales happened following the project’s launch last fall, but steady interest in the show homes this spring bodes well. Plans call for a wine cellar, conference space and hotel on-site within five years.
Island boost
It’s a similar story on Vancouver Island, where recreational property prices have retrenched but interest is up. High-end homes might not be moving as quickly, but overall values are steady and strengthening.
A recent tour for media showed off homes that partners Graham Harris and Donald Kirkwood are developing at Harwood Beach Estates in Comox, where five of 14 lots have sold to date. Three show homes, originally tagged at $1.4 million, have repriced at $1.1 million with the aim of accelerating sales.
Anna DiFiore of Red Gun Marketing Inc. said the lower price is attracting interest from buyers in Alberta – particularly Edmonton – and, more recently, Ontario.
Similarly, Qualicum Landing north of Qualicum Beach has just 11 of its 62 units left to sell, three years after the project initially launched. While prices start at $399,000 for 1,047-square-foot homes, the more expensive residences with upward of 2,000 square feet were among the first to sell.
Buyers are typically in their mid-50s or older, with many commuting from Alberta for a slice of Island life.
By the bay
While up-Island agents tout sales, prospects are also strong in the Victoria area.
“We have more leads coming in now – like, three to five times as many leads coming in on a weekly basis now – than we did a year ago,” said Brad Neufeld, sales and marketing director for Walker Hospitality Ltd., which began redeveloping the historic Oak Bay Beach Hotel in 2007.
Walker is selling the hotel’s 100 units to buyers who own the suites outright, then lease them back to the developer as the permanent tenant. Buyers may use their units for up to 16 weeks a year, but they receive a guaranteed rent that works out to a 2.25% return on their initial investment.
Various sales incentives have boosted the guaranteed return. For example, the current offering of 20 units also promises buyers a 3.25% return as well as a 5% premium if buyers choose to resell units to Walker in 2017.
Of the 65 hotel units offered for sale to date, Neufeld said at least 35 have sold. •
