The Cambie Street corridor has become home to some of the hottest real estate in Metro Vancouver. With the Canada Line rumbling underfoot, developers have been snapping up single-family homes in the hopes of redeveloping the land into high-density housing.
The owner of a 65-year-old bungalow located on a corner lot near Cambie Street and W. 35th Avenue is one of the last holdouts in the area, and it appears to be paying off handsomely.
The company that purchased the house one year ago for about $5 million has put it on the market one year later for $11 million.
Globalnews.ca coverage of B.C. real estate
Tom Davidoff with UBC’s Sauder School of Business says the owners took a risk and will likely be amply rewarded.
“There’s a lot of risk. The housing market could’ve gone south over the last year. This buyer and seller, they’re making a lot of money in the world we live in today but there are other worlds in which they would’ve lost money. They took a risk, they made a lot of money, nothing wrong with that.”
In June, the City of Vancouver unveiled a draft plan for development along the Cambie Corridor, calling it its most aggressive push for housing yet.
The proposal includes plans for 11,500 new homes. The city said it’s looking to meet its target through the development of townhomes, row houses, and rental housing.
“It’s true housing in the path of development gets more expensive but the extra development creates more supply, which lowers prices.”
— With files from Simon Little and Emily Lazatin