A similar unit in a high-rise with the same number of square feet can cost thousands of dollars more just for being higher up in a building.
Is that surprising?
It shouldn’t be, according to Ron Antalek, realtor with RE/MAX LifeStyles Realty.
There has always been a demand for units higher up in a building, he said.
“In Maple Ridge, just generally, we say $4,000 to $10,000 a floor, with an exception of the penthouse … it would usually be more because there’s nobody above you,” Antalek said.
So if the units are similar, why the big jump in price?
“Generally, people often prefer to be higher in a building by demand, but what goes with it often is views, [natural] light… and security,” he explained.
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ERA is no exception to the rule, a new development planned to take up three blocks between Haney Plaza and 224th Street, between Dewdney Trunk Road in the south and Brown Avenue in the north.
The unit price increases $4,000 per floor, Antalek said.
“One of the biggest variables, depending where… is the view. So downtown Vancouver, when you have a 40-story building, the biggest variable that often goes with height, and increased pricing, is a view,” said Antalek.
“So in Maple Ridge, when we’re at four to six storeys, not that view is a factor, but it can be.”
The Panorama (12148 – 224th Street) is a 10-story concrete tower that has buildings to its north and south, but the neighbouring buildings are only four storeys.
“Guess what happens on the fifth to 10th floor… you get a view,” Antalek said. “So what happens is the price per floor is going up.”
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Pricing at Highpointe (227th Street, south of Lougheed Highway), a condo development, can fluctuate because southeast and southwest units gain a view of the Fraser River, Antalek added.
“So if you go higher up in this building, your view even gets more majestic.”
But even if the view factor is eliminated in Maple Ridge, the increase in price per floor still exists.
“We have current evidence of pricing that ranges in the $4,000 to the $10,000 a floor, excluding penthouse – roughly,” said Antalek.
The make-up of a building can also have an impact on the price. A concrete building is more expensive to build and retails higher in value than a wood-frame building, he added.
@JotiGrewal_
joti.grewal@blackpress.ca
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