With interest rates rising and some homeowners expected to be in financial shock, many have predicted a slowdown in the B.C. real estate market.
Even in the Tri-Cities, where prices have dropped slightly in all but Port Moody, higher interest rates have reduced the buying power for new homebuyers as prices are still higher than they were two years ago.
But in Anmore, the luxury home market appears to be isolated from the real estate market downturn.
Defying advice from experts who say don't sell unless you have to, an 11,000 sq. ft. home with six bedrooms, an elevator, an eight car garage and a waterfall feature on a 1.1-acre lot was recently listed for $8.89 million.
A good deal for luxury property
Glen Bohnet of Royal LePage West Real Estate Services says the home located at 3299 Black Bear Way is actually a good deal, compared to homes of a similar size in West Vancouver. As well, the lot is much bigger than similarly sized properties elsewhere in the Lower Mainland.
It also has a nearly 1,800 sq. ft. two-bedroom, three-bathroom carriage house.
"It's unique," said Bohnet of the rural enclave, which he calls the 'Hamptons" of Vancouver.
Bohnet told the Tri-City News that Anmore has been a "hidden" secret for many years but the word is slowly getting out about the value of the area.
While the price of the Black Bear Way home seems high, Bohnet noted that those who choose to live in Anmore appreciate the proximity to shopping, short 45-minute commute to downtown Vancouver and accessibility to the region's two airports.
Anmore also has plenty of natural assets, including hiking trails and Buntzen Lake, noted Bohnet, who said Anmore residents appreciate the area's natural assets.
Pandemic buying led to higher house prices
As to how luxury properties fare during a real estate downturn, Bohnet said they aren't as susceptible to wild swings in value, while the current market slowdown is related to increased housing demand during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We have inflation. We have some uncertainties," he agrees, "[but] it was interesting to see what what happened when COVID hit the market.
"People were looking to go more to estate living so their family could be there there and they could have their own private compound type of thing," said Bohnet, who has sold a lot of luxury homes in his 30-year career, as well as more typical family homes in the Tri-Cities and Maple Ridge.
Bohnet said that if you take away the spike in prices caused by pandemic purchases, the softening that is occurring now is a natural outcome of a slight change in the market. And while he disagrees with raising interest rates instead of cutting carbon taxes on gasoline to reduce inflation, he said it's not unusual to see a price correction in response to fluctuations in the economy.
But Bohnet said Anmore hasn't seen the same ups and downs as elsewhere, he said. Instead, it's seen a steady growth because people are slowly finding Anmore has value.
"Anmore is one of those places they just love when they discover it and you couldn’t find it [a similar property] anywhere at that price."
