Deana Lancaster

News Reporter
deana@nenews.com

IT will probably be the
biggest purchase most
consumers will ever
make.

And vez, in inereasing num-
bers in’ Greater Vancouver,
home buyers are forking, out
their cash without actually sec-
ing what they are buying.

ir’s called “pre-selling.”

And although it has many
advantages, buyers should pro-
ceed with caution when buving
their dream unseen.

“The most critical thing a
buyer should do is look into
the builder,” said WestFeal’s
Lisa Thon.

She and her brother David
Thon are marketing Two-One -
Two, an alniost-compieced
building in the heart of Lower
Lonsdale. About one third of
the 30 units were pre-sold, and
they did it, said Thon, based on
the reputation of che builder,
Brody Development
Corporation.

She added many buyers are
“wowed into purchasing” by a
beautiful show suite.

But although it might look
nice in the display centre, often
a show suite is missing a wall or
nwo, or has less farnitere chan
most people use, in order to
make ttlook larger.

“Tsaw one show home in
Vancouver that had glass walls
to give it the illusion of space,” Thon
said.

The market is prive-sensitive, so the
trend in condominiums these days is to
build small, and miany people buying a
home before it’s actually built don’t
realize just what that means.

“The most common complainr or
disappointment that Pve heard of
about pre-selling is that people bouglit
based on price. They got, for example,
a one-bedroom for $139,900) which
was under 600 square feet and didn’t
realize how small that is,” she said.

Bur pre-selling docs have advan-
tages and works weil for lors of buyers.

“Irs fine for a sophisticated buyer
who is capable of doing the research
and snapping out the square footage,”
Thon: said.

And ouying carly often means pric
ity suite selection, the ability to cus-
tomize the floor plan, and being able to
pick a cclor scheme, It may also work
financially for buyers — allowing them
to save into their deposit during the
early months of the construction. And
ii a rising market, buying eariv can
mean a significant cost savings.

The Thons did their cariv pre-sell-
ing at tie site — in the old Koyal Bank
building at the corer of 2nd and

Lonsdale.

There was no show suite.

“We taped out one ef our one-bed-
rooms on the floor to show the square
footage and then masked off a typical
competing product.”

One-bedrooms at Two-One-Two
average 726 square feet, one-bed-
7oom ‘dens are around 800
sqaare fvai while qvo- bedrooms plus 3
den are 1,009 square feer. It works out
roabout 10% more space than the aver-
age condon nium for sale,

“ft makes a big difference,” said
Thon.

The sales centre also featured color

AT A GLANCE ...

ADDRESS: 1315 Ottaburn Road

LOT SIZE: 93 FT. x 130 FT.

Dee hem cre saem reer ae ree eeeeen seam ereeesues

INTERIOR SIZE: 3,875 SQ. FT.

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NUMBER OF BEDROOMS: 5

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NUMBER OF FLOORS: 2 p'us basement

Oe eeu een eee e neem erenannereerieseseres

ASKING PRICE: $628,000

OPEN HOUSE: Sunday, May 24, 2- 4pm

LISTING AGENT: Beb Craig, 986-9321/826-2130

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SPECIAL FEATURES: The home ts perfectly

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Friday. May 22, 1998 ~ North Shere News ~ 54

NEWS photo Mike Wakefield

IN the early days of its construction, above, the marketing team of Lower Lonsdale’s Two-One-Two pre-sold
its residential units based on the reputation of the builder and the size of the planned apartments rather

than with a show suite.

boards, photos of the area and intor-
mation about the huture of Lower
Lonsdale, including the view corridors,
obtained from the Lower Lonsdale
planning committee. Most iniporgantiy,
said Thon, they had a cut-away section
of wall, floor and ceiling to show the
quality of the “party wall” to be used in
the coustrucnion, because although
manv builders use a similar design, not
all walls are crested equal.

The important thing to remember
about buving carly, especially if all the
information is not provided tor you,
said Thon, is “to dig, dig Lard aad dig
deeper.” .

Market
costs tops
in Canada

Beana Lancaster

News Reparter
deana@nsnews.com

THEY say you get
what you pay for.

So it’s 4a) good thing
Greater Vancouver is blessed
with mild cemperarures, beau-
ful greenspace. and lots of
outdoar recreation, because
we are certainly paving for it.

Coldwell Banker Real
Estate Corporation releated
the results of its 1998 Howe
Price Comparison Index
(HPC]) study at the end of
April.

The index provides a quick
approximation of how much
similar homes might cost in
any one of nearly 300 markets
across the United States,
Canada and Puerto Bicc.

According to the HPCE,
the most expensive market in
Canada is Vancouver, where
its subject hose — a single

ty dwelling, approximate-
ly 2.000 square feet in size
with four bedreoms, two and
one-half baths, a family roam
and a two-car garage —— sells
for $485,500 ia Canadian
tunds.

In Calgary, the same home
sells for $149,638; in Orrawa
$276,256: and in St. John’s,
Newfoundland, the same
home sells for $141,400,

The index is available in a
brochure formar and features
an iudex rumber for cach
market and a formula that
helps consurners calculate the
cast to replace their home in
another location.
488-MOVE or
stop by a branch of Caldwell
Banker vo get a free copy of
the brochure. Or check one
the company’s Website at
hip: //eww.coldwellbanker.c

Feature Listing
1315 Ottaburn Road

Palatial Poskitt Tudor

Cee ercerorvecceraroreaserneresenee

Facts and Features:

¢ This beautifully maintained home offers 5

and dining off the
imprezsive entry.

bedrooms ail on the same tevel.
* Traditional cross hail tiving

¢ Cheery family room and den

on the main floor,
* Full basement with

and lots of starege.

both schools and the
Hollyburn club.

sited cn a bright sunny jot on the upper side

of the cul-de-sac.

gamesroom and rec room,

° Short cul-de-sac is close to

Bob Craig, Sutton
Group-West
Coast Reaalty