Many people are asking me about state of presales these days and if they are good investments for the future. The Ian Watt Real Estate Team primarily focuses on the Downtown market - Coal Harbour, Yaletown, the Westend and some Westside condos as well. So here is my opinion on presales vs. resales in those above mentioned markets – only buy if you are thinking of moving in or hanging on. It's that simple!
Presales used to be a great deal. You would pay today’s prices for tomorrow’s product. Now with the way things are, you’re paying tomorrow’s prices for tomorrow’s products. So if it’s an ideal place for you or it’s a place you want to hang on to then I think you should go for it but if flipping is in your future then you might want to hold off.
I personally just bought a home at Icon 2 and I can throw a rock in to the water from my patio and I paid $707 per square foot and that is including gst. So looking at $800 to $900 per square foot, which most inner Downtown developments are these days, it’s pretty hard to say it’s a deal. Check out some of the prices per square foot currently on the market in Downtown.
Of course the new Millennium Water is what everyone is talking about and Rennie sure does a great job of making these areas sexy (remember what they did with the killer Woodward's launch?), but I honestly think there is better product already sitting on the market with lots of room to grow.
Just my opinion - Ian