East Vancouver shack selling for $1.1 million

By Paula Baker Global News

Posted May 12, 2016 7:06 pm

Updated May 12, 2016 7:09 pm

1 min read

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Click to play video: 'Realtor discusses $1.2M Vancouver “shed”' — Realtor Michael Ray talks to Global News about why he feels his client is justified in selling an East Vancouver home, which critics call a shed, for $1.2 million – May 12, 2016

From shadow flipping to concern around foreign buyers, it’s no secret Vancouver’s current real estate market is overheated.

And this recent example is no exception – for $1,190,000, a wannabe homeowner can get a three bedroom, one bath, 810 square foot, 60-year-old home on Penticton Street in East Vancouver.

Described as a “fixer-upper” in Renfrew Heights, realistically it’s more of a tear-down on a 33-by-108 foot lot.

But the realtor representing the seller, Michael Ray, says the list price is comparable to three other properties sold in the area and “that’s just the way it is.”

“Some of the most unnerving exercises we have is trying to arrive at a fair market value,” Ray told Global News.

“But when you have multiple offers, there’s no telling where it’s going to settle in. And the real estate market is a pure market, and the market prevails. So we can make our best estimate based on comparable [properties] that sold the week before or the month before… but the truth is, it’s what the people in the property that day is willing to pay.”

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By saying a “pure market” Ray contends that no one is manipulating the ballooned housing prices – not the banks, politicians or developers.

Instead, if someone is willing to shill out $500,000 more than the asking price, Ray says you cannot blame the seller or real estate agent.

“That’s just the way it is. It is what it is and all you can do as a buyer is accept that and do the best you can with the people you are working with…The days of negotiating back and forth and grinding the seller down are not here today.”