Most of the inquiries that go through our site go to our sellers; however, we also receive direct emails from buyers asking for advice about where to buy or asking us to keep an eye out for specific types of property for them. When we first launched the site, I had an email that read something like this:
"We are looking for a place to build an off-the-grid, sustainable living home. We would like to purchase a few acres of land with riverfront or a stream to create micro hydro power."
Although I knew of a movement towards sustainable living, I was surprised to see an inquiry like this so soon after the site launched; however, the percent of inquiries like this that come through to us have made me wonder if we could set up some kind of a search for these properties (although I imagine this might be quite complicated!).
All of this interest got me wondering what I didn't know that these people knew, so I delved a little deeper into the reasons for their desire to live off the grid.
The reasons all seem to come down to the same thing-attempting to make less of a footprint on the earth while having your own means of creating energy in a possible future of global warming and a certain future of higher energy costs. Here is a citation from a recent email from a buyer from "down-south," who references the film www.whatawaytogomovie.com to qualify his statement:
"I (only) passed through there (Vancouver Island) on the way to Glacier Bay, Alaska in '05 while investigating the effects of climate change, the results of which are one of the reasons I am relocating. The other reason being that the entire informed and concerned population of North America seems to be headed your way for the same reason, so I should be in good company regardless."
After doing a bit of research on global warming, it seems that many areas of B.C., while they will be effected to a degree by global warming, may be a safer bet than areas such as the southern States (particularly parts of California, Florida, Georgia & Alabama) and large cities in Asia and India. I even managed to find this web site www.droughtscore.com, which informs people looking to relocate in the US on where to live to avoid drought (!) and another article about lack of water supply and the problems it is causing in Georgia, Florida & Alabama. The owner of www.droughtscore.com, Bert Sperling even lists the areas most at risk for being affected by global warming in the US on his web site www.bestplaces.net. Click here for article. Click here for US Drought monitor.
Although riverfront land may be at risk of increased flooding from warming, it seems the trade off (energy and water availability) is more than worth the risk of living somewhere with no access to either. The key with this type of property would be to build at a safe distance from the riverbank to protect your buildings and ensure you are also protecting the ecosystem by creating a good environment for salmon spawning.
While there is some concern about large scale micro-hydro intiatives in B.C. (click here for article), it seems most of the buyers who email us are looking to create small versions for themselves of what the energy giants are tapping into with the government's recent focus on "greener" energy initiatives.
It is not just in our area of the real estate industry that people are becoming more aware of eco-friendly ways of living. A recent survey by Royal LePage showed that almost 75% of Canadian homebuyers are looking for a "green-improved" property in their next home and that 63% would pay more for an environmentally friendly home. Certain players in the building industry are already responding with more eco-friendly development practices. Home Depot now produces the "Eco-Options" magazine to highlight its "green" products and the latest edition of "This Old House" to arrive at our door was titled "Save Money, Save Energy, Build Smart: 53 pages of products and projects for a safer, healthier home."
Some real estate brokerages are even going green including one in Vancouver, MacDonald Realty, which has recently launched a program called MacGreen . The program is a carbon-offsetting plan (free to buyers and sellers) whereby the real estate agents can donate carbon credits as part of the real estate transaction. In an industry where driving is a necessary part of the job, this is one way the agents and brokerages can contribute to the health of the environment.
(If you are interested in buying or selling a waterfront/view property in the Lower Mainland and partcipating in this program, please contact our member Realtor and environmental lawyer, Patricia Houlihan at 604-376-7653 or visit her website at www.waterfrontvancouver.ca.)
Our #4 area for single family waterfront sales this year (and the one with the most noticeable price increase!) is Sechelt (Rural) While the District of Sechelt has had a number of waterfront single family sales this year with an average selling price of $677, 445, it is the whole area surrounding Sechelt-basically from Gibsons up (but not including the actual Town of Gibsons or District of Sechelt) that is included in these statistics. In addition, this jurisdiction includes Gambier and Keats Islands, Nelson and Hardy Islands and Jervis Inlet. Quite a large area to say the least!
For many years, the Sunshine Coast has been a destination for Vancouverties looking for a weekend place to "get away from it all". Popular waterfront areas on the Sunshine Coast include Halfmoon Bay, Pender Harbour and Robert's Creek to name a few. While the market for vacation homes remains hot here, in recent years, more buyers have been purchasing primary homes and making a permanent move to the area. The Sunshine Coast Regional District had an 8.4% population increase between 2001-2006 and the average age in the District is 47.2 years old according to the 2006 census.
For the last two years, the market on the Sunshine Coast has been balanced with a sales to listing ratio of between 0.5-1 based on a three month moving average. According to the MLS Housing price index, the average price of a single family home on the Sunshine Coast has risen 8.6% over the last 12 months to $409, 740. Permit values in the Sunshine Coast Regional District have increased dramatically since 2001. 2006 reached 73.3 million!
I spoke to Patti Gaudetof Prudential Sussex Realty , Madeira Park and Bruce LaSuta of Prudential Sussex Realty in Sechelt about the Sunshine Coast waterfront real estate market. Bruce says "the majority of our Buyers are from the lower mainland (Vancouver area) but we are also seeing many Albertan Buyers as well this year. The internet and the information it supplies make our jobs as Realtors much easier as we are finding that the Buyers are more informed on the local market."
Regarding the "sub-prime" issue in the States, Bruce says "it is having little effect on us in Canada 'though the Eastern Buyers are dwindling off likely because of the high Canadian dollar that has really hurt some manufacturers, especially in the auto industry. Long-term, real estate is still very desirable and the baby boomers (over 50% of them are over 50 years old this year !) here in Canada are purchasing their retirement homes in anticipation of them leaving the workforce."
Bruce is right on the mark with this comment. If you have been following our blog for the last few months, you are aware of the effect of this mass exodus of baby boomers from larger cities to smaller towns, where they can upgrade their residence to a waterfront, view home or small acreage and enjoy a higher standard of living than they may have had in they city. Click here to view Bruce's listing in Halfmoon Bay.
Patti agrees that most of the buyers they see are coming from Vancouver. Interestingly, she says that properties with docks and foreshore leases in Pender Harbour come at a premium (about $100, 000 more than those without she estimates) as Lower Mainlanders who have purchased vacation homes there like to boat up for weekends and avoid the ferry traffic.
As for waterfront prices in the area, Patti noted that some buyers are still under the misconception that they can get a waterfront place in the price range of $400, 000-500, 000 but that this is no longer the case in this busy waterfront market (with the exception of leasehold property). Indeed, based on our October statistics, single family waterfront homes in this jurisdiction had risen by an average of over $300, 000 from $697,628 in 2006 to an average sale price of$1, 007, 366 so far in 2007. Price-wise, anything under $1, 000 000 in the popular waterfront neighbourhoods is hot, according to our Realtors.
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 bom
