Sechelt Development - Silverstone Heights

[Skook]

November 29, 2013 Update:

It’s “damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead!” for Silverstone Heights in Sechelt. The “torpedoes” in this case being all the dire news and predictions gathering momentum regarding the health of Canada’s real estate markets and economy.

Let’s see. In this past week alone, we have the International Monetary Fund (IMF) advising Canada to end CMHC insurance; Goldman Sachs recommending shorting the Canadian dollar because of our country’s current account deficit; the head of our Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OFSI) warning “industry players to remain vigilant to the dangers of a correction in the [RE] market and what it would mean for borrowers” and that it’s “preparing a set of guidelines specifically for the mortgage insurance industry to be unveiled next March”; that home affordability in Canada continues to worsen and that in Vancouver it now takes “84.2% of an average household’s pre-tax income to maintain a home”; and, we were told that Canada has the worst “house price-to-rent ratio” among OECD countries standing at a whopping 85% above the historic average of the IMF’s Global House Price Index. Whew, I can hardly wait for next week.

Greypointe Properties must be feeling lucky or poo-poos the news because it’s loaded every planned home for the new subdivision’s 30 lots onto MLS; seriously, I just about fell off my chair yesterday when I saw that big bounce in ‘active’ listings.

The Silverstone Heights website is now fully active and loaded with lots of “stuff” to convince you how fulfilled you would be buying one of its homes and living in Sechelt. Here are the seven craftsman-style homes proposed for the subdivision. Starting at the top left and moving clockwise, they’re named: Spruce, Maple, Dogwood, Arbutus, Hemlock, Willow, and Birch - feels like a stroll along West Broadway near VGH. If the daylight drawings hold little appeal, just wait a few seconds on the website for the “dusk” renderings when all the imaginary inside lights get turned on.

I will say I am impressed with one aspect of these mock-ups. I have a feeling Greypointe went the extra step and had the site laser surveyed and that info was fed into the CAD program because I think these homes give an honest depiction of how they will fit into the subdivision topography.

So, we have seven basic styles taking us from a 3bed/2bath 1604sf home at $479,900 to a 4bed/3bath 2616sf home at $599,900. Here is the Silverstone Heights spreadsheet with all the details:

According to the site plan, the “introductory” pricing includes the GST; if and when that ends, you can tack on an additional $23,995 to $29,995 to cover that tax. The Property Transfer Tax will add on another roughly $7,000 to $10,000 dollars, The Transitional Tax (move to PST) is currently set at 2% which adds on another $9,000 to $12,000. The Property Taxes would be somewhere in the ballpark of $3,000/year in Sechelt.

So, with the GST included in the purchase price, the final price after just these add-ons are factored in will fall somewhere from $496,000 to $625,000 depending on the home. If you have to pay the GST, the cost increases from $520,000 to $655,000. In my previous post, I guessed the largest home would run about $700,000 which proved to be $100,000 over; but, when you factor in all the add-on costs, I'm in the ballpark.

So, what do you think? Is Silverstone Heights going to fly or will it be a dud like its sister site below it (Silverstone at Sechelt) or its neighbour to the side (Trail Bay Estates)? To help you decide, let’s look at the Sunshine Coast Single Family Detached Home sales by price range. I upload this information with my monthly sales stats - it comes from the REBGV. I have created smaller versions of the table going back to July. As you can see below, except for August, most sales have occurred in the $300,000 - $399,999 with very few sales above $500,000. Bear in mind, too, that these are coast-wide sales.

Last night, I sat down and looked at sales this month from November 1st to 20th (what’s available to me until the end of the month) and that info is in the table on the far right. The home that sold in the $600,000 - $699,999 range was a 4bed, 2455sf home sitting on 8.6 acres in Roberts Creek. The home sold in the $500,000 - $599,999 range was a 5 bed, 4200sf home on 0.36 acres in Gibsons.

In Sechelt, only 4 single family detached homes sold during this time span and all were in the $300,000 - $399,999 range. The highest sales price is worth looking at further. The 24-year-old, 4bed/4bath, 4645sf home on 0.21 acres was listed this past May at $479,000. In July, the price dropped -6.3% to $449,000 and it sold this month for $398,000 - that’s $81,000 (-17%) below the original May list price.

Silverstone Height’s first listing at 5533 Peregrine Crescent (I’ll stick with the traditional spelling and not the site map’s Cres-e-cent) went up on October 22nd and there’s been no sale, yet; however, it is early in the game and the development’s official kick-off likely won’t be until spring. Without a doubt, it is going to be very interesting to follow the development into 2014. Yes, let’s see how many have the confidence and desire to “start a new tradition” and “build a new legacy that connects generations” as they “escape the bustle of city life” and “take time out to connect…to talk, laugh and share a few memories, or even make some new ones” at those prices. Well, at least the website doesn’t mention the damn hospital being close by - kudos, at least, for that omission.

(I almost forgot. There is one significant difference between this development and its sister site - Silverstone at Sechelt. Greypointe will not be hiring a Sunshine Coast construction company, but will build the homes itself in the new subdivision. I image local companies were hired for the site prep; but, as far as construction jobs are concerned they could be few if Greypointe brings in its own crews from the city).

December 1, 2013 Update:

Okay, I was wrong. There is no text mention of the hospital but there is a picture in the Photo Gallery under 'Amenities.' Jeesh.

   

I noticed something interesting in that gallery (now that I've figured out how to move through it) - there are quite a few pictures under 'Lifestyle' of Lower Gibsons particularly around the wharf area; and, snaps of the General Store in Halfmoon Bay make it into 'Amenities' - despite that fact it isn't a Sechelt 'Amenity'. Well, what can you do; after all, there aren't many photogenic structures in town to give you the "warm fuzzies."