Port Coquitlam home gets 17 offers, sells for $107,000 over asking

By SARAH PAYNE
April 21, 2015 · Updated 12:48 PM
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This home on Wellington Street in Port Coquitlam sold on Sunday after receiving 17 offers. It sold for $107,000 over the asking price of $595,000. / MLS PHOTO

Realtor Scott Leaf knew his client's home would be a hot commodity in an already smoking real estate market but what happened at 4086 Wellington St. on Sunday has left him stunned.

The Port Coquitlam home boasts four bedrooms and three bathrooms in just over 2,100 square feet, with an updated kitchen and an expansive backyard. It has been well cared for over the years but, truthfully, isn't particularly exceptional, he said.

"It's a nice B.C. box just like the one I grew up in," said Leaf, of Keller Williams Elite Realty.

Nevertheless, more than 150 prospective buyers toured the home during open houses on Saturday and Sunday — so many that at one point, Leaf had to do crowd control and ask people to check out the backyard before coming inside.

But even before the open houses — just a few days after it was listed on April 14 — Leaf told his clients to brace themselves and be ready for their home to sell.

It sold. Boy, did it sell.

On Sunday evening, 17 buyers lined up outside the home to submit their offers.

By the end of the night, the home, listed for $595,000 (and most recently assessed at $559,000), sold for $702,000.

"I knew it was going to be busy but I had no idea it was going to be that busy," Leaf said. "Even with the [Canucks playoff] hockey game, we had 17 people standing outside."

He knew the house would be a big draw, given its proximity to Irvine elementary, a French immersion school, the large, private backyard and, most importantly, the price.

"There's so little available and so many people looking," he said, noting the bulk of available housing tends to be further up on Burke Mountain, where homes are priced above $800,000, or in the condo market, while detached homes in the $600,000 range are hard to come by.

So keen were the hopeful buyers that most of the offers were subject-free, cash bids.

The homeowners, a couple that is downsizing, are in a state of "stunned disbelief," Leaf said, with "big smiles."

spayne@tricitynews.com

@spayneTC

Demand continued to rise across Metro Vancouver's housing market in March.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver reached 4,060 on the MLS® in March 2015. This represents a 53.7 per cent increase compared to the 2,641 sales recorded in March 2014, and a 32.6 per cent increase compared to the 3,061 sales in February 2015.

Last month’s sales were 26.8 per cent above the 10-year sales average for the month.

"We're seeing strong competition amongst home buyers today. This is leading to more multiple offer situations and some upward pressure on home prices,” Darcy McLeod, REBGV president said. “For sellers, this means that it's taking less time, on average, for your home to sell if you have it priced correctly for today's market."
   
New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Metro Vancouver totalled 5,968 in March. This represents a 13 per cent increase compared to the 5,281 new listings reported in March 2014.   

Last month’s new listing count was 4.7 per cent higher than the region’s 10-year new listing average for the month.
   
The total number of properties currently listed for sale on the REBGV MLS® is 12,376, a 14.5 per cent decline compared to March 2014 and a 4 per cent increase compared to February 2015.

“The number of homes for sale today is below what’s typical for this time of year,” McLeod said. “If you’ve been considering putting your property on the market, these market conditions indicate that now may be a good time to list.”

The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $660,700. This represents a 7.2 per cent increase compared to March 2014.

The sales-to-active-listings ratio in March was 32.8 per cent. This is the highest that this ratio has been in Metro Vancouver since July 2007.

Sales of detached properties in March 2015 reached 1,711, an increase of 53.3 per cent from the 1,116 detached sales recorded in March 2014, and an 83.4 per cent increase from the 933 units sold in March 2013. The benchmark price for a detached property in Metro Vancouver increased 11.2 per cent from March 2014 to $1,052,800.

Sales of apartment properties reached 1,627 in March 2015, an increase of 47.1 per cent compared to the 1,106 sales in March 2014, and an increase of 65.7 per cent compared to the 982 sales in March 2013. The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 3.3 per cent from March 2014 to $390,200.

Attached property sales in March 2015 totalled 722, an increase of 72.3 per cent compared to the 419 sales in March 2014, and a 67.1 per cent increase from the 432 attached properties sold in March 2013. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 4.9 per cent between March 2014 and 2015 to $484,900.

Source: Craig Munn, Communications Manager, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver