Good point,(re: rentals ) but that can be a function of the given strata bylaws. Some stratas limit the number of rentals aka "investment properties" .

Probably best to see what % of units in any strata you may wish to purchase are actually allowed to be rented. In some stratas it is very low.

However, in the RE meltdown, I wonder if both new and old stratas alike already are , or may become ,far more liberal and flexible on the % of rentals allowed within their own stratas, which may have the negative consequences you alluded to.

If you can't own it AND live in it, the next option is renters.

I highly doubt many of these new condo units which remain empty in " UNused pristine condition" and collapsing in value by the day, if not by the minute in the RE meltdown , will remain "virginal" for very long.

Current score: 0 (to vote for this comment, please visit the site)

4 stories or less means wood frame construction, much cheaper and quicker to build than a tower. Obviously less units, but they can bang them up quicker with less code restrictions, less skilled labour, etc.

When I went to a Polygon open-house, the first question I was asked was if I was buying an "investment property". Some of those Polygon low-rise complexes are just going to turn into rental slums in the years to come.

Current score: 0 (to vote for this comment, please visit the site)

Province story:

http://www.theprovince.com/Concord+Pacific+finish…

QUOTE:

"We're certainly delighted to have Concord Pacific finish the project," Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts said yesterday. "This announcement reinforces our confidence in the strength of Surrey's local economy."

The mayor called the Infinity development a "gateway project" for the entire city.

WARNING!!! WARNING!!!! WARNING !!!!use by any politiician of the word "gateway".

There is something in this for Concord, they didn't get successful doing charity work.

Current score: 2 (to vote for this comment, please visit the site)

Re: Polygon refocussing on smaller condo projects and avoiding concrete towers.

I was wondering about that givne the RE meltdown … some of these companies still have to keep busy. The problem with the last bubble was that firms feel literally forced to move from their normal bread and butter and compete in a newer high stakes market. This of course, exacerbates the over-supply of these units, and what is the quality of the product by this new competition?….. are they capable of delivering a quality product during their own learning curve ?

Hi – rise construction and supply in any given year used to be a relativey conservative endeavour in any jurisdiction, , but the pace over the past few years was mind – boggling.

I had noticed that when the market was on the upswing, companies like Polygon would tend to assemble approx. 5 acres of land and approx. build 40 – 50 low rise units, usually 3 storey walk walk up condos…the odd apartment condos, but stay around 3-4 storeys.

In a given area, Polygon tended to establish first, probably having a better sense of the market, getting the land cheap…build/sell and then moving on. Their projects tended to be the biggest in a given area . Other developers would then tend to come into the area and pick up and assemble smaller parcels and consequently produce smaller projects.

Future of Hi Rises?

My guess is that the market will turn back to the same conservative supply side. Too many people, both developer and buyers, got burned. I'd hazard a guess that pre-sales will be done far differently if not outright cancelled.

Cities like Richmond had developed a new OCP which has set aside a lot of land in the City Center for hi-rises, but land available for 2-3 storey condos was rapidly being used up. So we will have this conundrum of lots of land zoned hi- rise yet few hi rise projects VERSUS much less land availble for lower density condos, but higher demand given less risk exposure for the developers.

A Hi Rise is an ALL or NONE type of venture when you go vertical..but low rise condos "horizontal" allow for much greater flexibility, ie build in phases, "on demand" etc.

This "build UP not OUT" mantra by City Planners may be due for a radical upheaval in their future focusses.

I would suggest that much land currently zoned hi- rise by idealistic City Planners and greedy politicians will sit undeveloped for years, but many developers will be lobbying for current lands to be RE-zoned to low rise for the reason I have outlined above. Could turn City Planning inside out and upside down, and maybe for the better.

Current score: 2 (to vote for this comment, please visit the site)

Current score: 2 (to vote for this comment, please visit the site)

Current score: 6 (to vote for this comment, please visit the site)

Current score: 5 (to vote for this comment, please visit the site)

Current score: 4 (to vote for this comment, please visit the site)

No pets and no smoking

Rent: $3500"

Good grief you can rent an entire house in British Properties in North Van for that. A nice house.

But of course I'd much rather have a concrete apartment on No. 3 road. Wishing rent.

Current score: 6 (to vote for this comment, please visit the site)

Having extended family that once lived a few doors down from Aberdeen …these condos will be under a constant noise corridor.

We used to sit immediately East of Aberdeen and literally read the serial number off the 747's. The noise was unreal…had to pause betweeen conversations.

For some reason unknown ( though I have heard anecdotally too many times that BRIBES work in Richmond to NOT believe

them ) the City made a single exception to allow a condo development at Aberdeen in that area right under the flight path.

There is not another multi – family development for at least a half mile, only real "advantage"(?) is Aberdeen is adjacent to the RAV line. Err sorry I mean "Crime – train".

Current score: 2 (to vote for this comment, please visit the site)