Market Insights - BC Waterfront Real Estate

As promised, we will be featuring our "Property Pick of the Month" in this blog.  Previously, this information was only available to registered users of our site; however, we have decided to make it public as it is such a popular feature.

This month's property is a custom-built lakefront home on Cowichan Lake. According to our member agent and area specialist Norm DeWit, the home, listed at $654, 000, represents the best waterfront value currently available in the Cowichan Lake market.

Located on Cowichan Lake, about 1 hour north of  Victoria and 1 hour south of Nanaimo, this 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom open-plan home boasts a southern exposure, a large 11, 200 sq ft lot, vaulted ceilings, high-end finishing (including hardwood floors and stainless appliances) and the privacy of your very own dock. 

The seller has already built another home and has moved on so the home is being sold for below replacement cost. This is a great opportunity to live the dream with a first-rate home on your own piece of Vancouver Island lakefront. 

This week, I thought I'd make special mention of a few properties that caught my eye as I was going through the site. I see a lot of waterfront properties during the day (or photos of them anyways), so I thought I'd mention some that have attracted my interest in the last few weeks. Of course, I haven't seen these in person and don't offer any guarantees, but if you like what you see, they could be worth a gander.

The first property is a private sale on Nelson Island on the Sunshine Coast. It features 2.6 acre, sheltered deep water moorage and 26' oceanfront. There are two winterized cabins on the property. With prices what they are on the mainland of the Sunshine Coast, this might be a nice alternative for someone wanting a recreational getaway from Vancouver. 

Another property that shows promise is an inexpensively priced oceanfront lot on Pender Island. At only $339, 000 I was sure it would involve a lot of work to get sewer/water, etc... to the lot, but the ad states that water & sewer hookup, hyrdo and cable are at the lot line. 

After looking at waterfront property around the province for much of the day, I consider a single family lake or oceanfront property under $650, 000 to be a good price on southern Vancouver Island and in the current market. While investigating the market in our 5th area for single family waterfront sales this week (Duncan Rural), I got excited about some of the seemingly good opportunities around the Duncan area. According to our stats from MyLandcor, Duncan Rural includes areas such as Shawnigan Lake , Mill Bay, Cowichan Lake, Youbou, Cherry Point, etc...

Having lived in Victoria most of my life, I remember Shawnigan Lake as a popular destination for summer getaways. In those days, it seemed a long way out of the city but with the recent growth of the Western Communities , it seems you are barely out of the city when you reach the infamous "Malahat." Now it seems these areas are just a hop, skip and a jump from Victoria and with the population of Victoria spilling over the Malahat into areas like Mill Bay, Duncan and Shawnigan Lake I am suprised that the waterfront prices aren't higher. While Cowichan Lake is a little farther away, it is still within a two hours drive of downtown Victoria-not bad as a vacation destination considering Ozzie Jurock considers anything 4 hours from Vancouver a shoe-in for vacation property.

Our member Realtor, Norm deWit, owner of Osborne Realty and www.waterfrontvancouverisland.com, specializes in waterfront on the Island and particularly the area around Duncan including Lake Cowichan, Shawnigan Lake, Youbou, etc...While Norm's office says this year was a bit slower (which our stats reflect-click here for reference), the average sale price for single family waterfront in this region only increased (so far) by just over $65, 000-a far cry from other areas such as the Sunshine Coast, where prices in some areas went up over $300, 000 since last year. A quick search of the MLS "Duncan" region shows lakefront for under $500, 000 and even oceanfront property close to $400, 000 (!)

Who is buying in this area? Norm says they are seeing buyers mainly from Alberta and other parts of B.C. but also some from Europe, the U.S. and even Mexico.

Norm's value pick's for the area are listed below:

One of the last lots in a beautiful waterfront development $415, 000

Lake View Home with access to Dock and Lake $299, 900

With the recent California wildfires, you may catch a glimpse of our #3 waterfront area on your local news. Located near Port Alberni on Vancouver Island, Sproat Lake, which accounts for the majority of waterfront sales in the Alberni Valley is home to the Mars water bombers that are due to arrive in San Diego today. Our member real estate agent Dave Koszegi of RE/MAX Mid-Island Realty and owner of www.midislandhomes.com, gave us the rundown on the waterfront market in the Alberni Valley.

Waterfront (Single Family) on Sproat Lake can range anywhere from around $600, 000 - $1, 500, 000; however, Sproat Lake properties have been listed for up to $4, 000, 000 (!) in the past. Dave says last summer was a busy one for Sproat Lake waterfront. He has had 29 sales transactions for lakefront properties over the course of the season and has noticed (as have some of our other agents) a recent surge of activity again in the waterfront market. Note: I like to think this is due to my recent blog, which recommended that now is a great time to buy waterfront, but I'm sure there are other contributing factors. Perhaps the short summer left us pining for more sun and dreaming of lazy days by the beach.

One of the most surprising things that came up in my conversation with Dave was the fact that although the market is extremly busy, he has not seen many buyers from Alberta in the area. This seems to be an anomaly in the B.C. waterfront market. Dave says he has seen some interest from Europeans as well as Californians, but comments that the bulk of the buyers hail from large B.C. cities. Indeed, with it's location on central Vancouver Island, it makes sense that B.C. buyers (particularly from Victoria) looking for vacation property would find Sproat Lake attractive with it's affordable (in waterfront terms) prices and abundance of recreational opportunities.

Dave says his hottest properties so far this year have been eight luxury townhouses in a gated community, six of which sold right away, listed between $629, 000 and $750, 000. With the majority of buyers hailing from Vancouver and Victoria and buying primarily for vacation purposes, it makes sense that these would be popular given the low maintenance requirements. Another hot product at the lake is the Dockside on Sproat Lake Community, with only 3 of 8 semi-waterfront lots still available (priced from $269, 900). Links to both properties are available below:

Mya Beach - Lakefront Luxury Town Homes

Dockside at Sproat Lake - Lots