My real estate column in last weekend’s Vancouver Sun featured property sales in West Vancouver, property sales in Surrey, property sales in Vancouver and property sales in Penticton.

Vancouver Sun December 4, 2010

West Vancouver
1340 Palmerston Avenue

Type: 4-bedroom, 4-bathroom detached
Size: 4,553 sq. ft.
B.C. Assessment, 2010: $1.248 million
Listed for: $1.629 million
Sold for: $1.635 million
Sold on: Sept 24
Days on market: Four
Listing agent: Suzanne Wheeler at Prudential Sussex Realty
Buyers agent: Jill Jenkins at Prudential Sussex Realty

The big sell: Sometimes, bigger is just better. This three-storey Ambleside house with ample family sized rooms is on a 13,504-square-foot lot overflowing with flower beds and multiple outdoor entertainment areas. Inside, there is no chance of overcrowding, with plenty of room for friends and family in the separate living, dining and family rooms, 18-by-16-foot kitchen and additional oversized eating area. The home has been comprehensively renovated, with attention to detail apparent in the hardwood flooring, custom millwork, gourmet kitchen, sunken living room and french doors. Upstairs, the master bedroom is spacious and the basement has a further 1,269 square feet of recreation space, storage, and laundry.

Surrey
The Brookland condos, 310 – 13468 King George Boulevard

Type: 1-bedroom, 1-bathroom apartment
Size: 441 sq. ft.
B.C. Assessment, 2010: $N/A
Listed for: $159,900
Sold for: $155,000
Sold on: Oct 24
Days on market: 39
Listing agent: Michael Sikich at The Agency Real Estate Marketing, TRG Downtown Realty
Buyers agent: Michael Sikich at The Agency Real Estate Marketing, TRG Downtown Realty

The big sell: This is a studio apartment with a difference: Instead of trying to juggle where the bed will go in the available space, a partial dividing wall provides a separate bedroom area, complete with a walk-in closet. This unit is in The Brookland, Surrey’s latest condo development, minutes from the Gateway SkyTrain station. It comprises 91 one- and two-bedroom homes scheduled for completion in the fall or winter of 2011. The units come in a choice of colour schemes and are pre-wired for high-speed Internet and cable. Interior features include stainless steel appliances, porcelain tiles, granite countertops, deep soaker tubs, and a breakfast bar with overhead pendant lighting.

Vancouver
4785 West 2nd Avenue

Type: 5-bedroom, 2-bathroom detached
Size: 4,235 sq. ft.
B.C. Assessment, 2010: $4.761 million
Listed for: $4.8 million
Sold for: $5.1101 million
Sold on: Sept 29
Days on market: 14
Listing agent: Evan Ho at Dexter Associates Realty
Buyers agent: Surinder Holat at Dexter Associates Realty

The big sell: According to listing agent Evan Ho, this house is a perennial Vancouver favourite that has fostered an emotional attachment with many people who walked by for years. Built in 1933, it has an attractive design with a distinctive red-brick exterior, a hip roof and dormers. Over the years, the house has fallen into disrepair, with the wooden roof now covered in moss and the interior uninhabitable. The geography of Vancouver naturally limits the amount of land available for development, so the opportunity to purchase an estate lot of 42,000 square feet and build a dream home in a prime westside location resulted in multiple offers and a sale in just two weeks for more than $300,000 over the asking price.

Penticton
1188 Queen Street

Type: 3-bedroom, 1-bathroom detached
Size: 1,916 sq. ft.
B.C. Assessment, 2010: $293,200
Listed for: $349,900
Sold for: $335,000
Sold on: Oct 7
Days on market: 65
Listing agent: Steve Thompson at Royal LePage Locations West Realty
Buyers agent: Raymond Maaske at Home Star Realty

The big sell: This is a well-presented single-family home on a 0.15-acre lot, with a landscaped yard containing a selection of plants that prosper in the Penticton climate. There is a covered patio area at the back surrounded by a fenced garden, which has underground irrigation and a detached single garage. The home has a spacious open-plan layout, with hardwood floors in the living room and bedrooms. The home has had extensive upgrades to the roof, windows, kitchen and bathroom, and last year a new gas furnace and central air system were installed. The basement is partly finished and contains a recreation room and an additional bedroom.

Compiled by Nicola Way of BestHomesBC.com and AssignmentsCanada.ca.

Realtors – send your recent sales to nicola@besthomesbc.com
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Read more: Recent real estate sales in West Vancouver, Surrey, Vancouver and Penticton

The Brookland is a new real estate condo development in the heart of Surrey – one of British Columbia’s fastest growing cities. It is situated within minutes of the Surrey-Gateway SkyTrain station putting New Westminster, Burnaby, Metrotown and Downtown Vancouver just minutes from your door and making commuting to work or special events, just so easy.

Closer to home, Central City Mall is down the street from The Brookland, as well as abundant green spaces that make up the City of Parks. Take a class. Catch a movie. Surrey has some undiscovered gems like the Surrey Arts Centre, the impressive new SFU Central City Campus and the Civic Centre which includes a flagship library, community plaza, and City Hall.

Surrey is strategically located with the US border to the south and the Fraser River to the north, making it part of the Gateway to the Pacific. Approximately one third of the land in Surrey is agricultural providing a high level of local sustainability with fresh fruit and produce always close at hand. One of the area’s most popular past-times, golf, is well catered for with 10 courses and several driving ranges.

The future is here. Come and be part of a revitalized Surrey.

For more information on Surrey’s latest real estate condo development, The Brookland, please visit thebrookland.com, to learn more about this exciting opportunity.