Keith Roy & Associates : Real Estate Professional : Blog

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Marpole Real Estate Seminar Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009.

by Keith Roy (Macdonald Realty Ltd.) on Thu, Oct, 29, 2009 12:39 PM

Categories:Marpole,Property,Real Estate,Seminar

Marpole Real Estate Seminar at the Marpole - Oakridge Community Centre 990 W. 59th Ave in Vancouver, BC

Join Keith Roy and talk about tips and tricks to selling your home, how to buy a home and the future of property values in Marpole. This workshop is FREE.
Hosted by: Keith Roy, licensed Realtor.© For any workshop questions, contact Keith at 604-454-4219 www.MarpoleRealEstate.com. If you would like to attend this seminar, please register through the Marpole-Oakridge Community Centre by calling 604-257-8180.

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Friday, January 30, 2009

Marpole Bus Barn Expanding

by Keith Roy (Macdonald Realty Ltd.) on Fri, Jan, 30, 2009 11:10 AM

Categories:Marpole,Marpole Condos,Marpole Houses,Marpole Real Estate,Translink

TransLink parking lot rolls over Marpole residents

Mark Hasiuk
Vancouver Courier

Friday, January 30, 2009

Last Monday, in a cramped, stuffy conference room at city hall, the development permit board held a public meeting. Approximately 40 concerned residents, mainly middle-aged and senior citizens from Marpole, sat shoulder-to-shoulder on plastic chairs, while the three-member board--and a handful of advisers and bureaucrats--sat comfortably around a large wooden table.

A single item graced the agenda: TransLink wants to build a five-acre parking lot next to the Vancouver Transit Centre at 9149 Hudson St. in Marpole, a stone's throw from the Fraser River.

Board member Brent Toderian, the city's director of planning, outlined TransLink's application, before TransLink's Bill Orr--a bookish, bespectacled man in a blue business suit--addressed the board. With his back to the glaring eyes of the gallery, Orr mumbled an inaudible greeting into the mic and was quickly interrupted.

"Louder! Speak up!" shouted a grey-haired man from the gallery. Orr shifted in his seat and continued his muted presentation before Toderian speared the elephant in the room. "Why aren't more of your staff taking buses?" Toderian asked.

After scant applause from the gallery, Orr explained--in barely audible tones--TransLink's commitment to public transit. We give our employees transit passes, he said, which are used by roughly 30 per cent of the 1, 200 employees at the centre in Marpole. "But," he added, "we have a shortfall of staff parking."

Following TransLink's presentation, several members of the gallery approached the giant wooden table and popped their "ps" into a skinny microphone.

"Don't let TransLink expand here," pleaded a grey-haired woman. "In my Marpole, my favourite neighbourhood."

Mr. Cowie, an elderly man with impeccable manners, argued that the Marpole waterfront could "be better than False Creek." He brought visual aids outlining his vision, which did not include a new five-acre parking lot. "I'll just leave these here," he said, placing two pieces of Bristol board on the wooden table. "In case you want to look at them later."

The board members stared blankly at Mr. Cowie, who thanked them for their time.

Terry Slack, a retired commercial fisherman and volunteer with the Fraser River Coalition, launched into a crowd-pleasing tirade that strained the boardroom sound system. "This project does nothing for the river. It actually erodes it," he thundered. "This project respects absolutely nothing!"

Midway through the meeting, a dishevelled middle-aged man wearing a coat, toque and backpack strolled through the front door of the third floor meeting room. Police, he announced in a well-rehearsed statement, turfed him from a city park, leaving his pet rabbits alone and in peril. "This is about the lives of sweet pets, who are intelligent," he said.

The gallery looked on, unfazed--a testament to the ubiquitous nature of homelessness in Vancouver--and the man left quietly at the request of board chair Chris Warren.

After more than two hours of discussion, the board unanimously approved TransLink's application to build a five-acre parking lot next to the Vancouver Transit Centre in Marpole. The board politely tolerated protests from the community, before giving TransLink exactly what it wanted.

Toderian thanked the "well-meaning folks" who shared their views, but noted that the city is running out of "land area we have left to do these unpopular things."

Surprisingly, the decision elicited no outrage from gallery members, who moments earlier displayed astonishing vigor. As they dispersed, there was little chatter. They played their role, in what Shakespeare called the "insolence of office," and now they were going home.

"It was absolutely predictable," said Wendy Turner, in the hallway outside the conference room. "The powers and institutions form the conclusions."

Turner, a retired schoolteacher and volunteer with the Eburne Lands Committee, said she'd keep fighting for the environment. And with a tired smile, she acknowledged the irony of a transit company expanding its employee parking lot.

"And if they need the land," she said. "They'll expand again."

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Thursday, November 27, 2008

Keith Helps Name Marpole Park

by Keith Roy (Macdonald Realty Ltd.) on Thu, Nov, 27, 2008 02:30 PM

Categories:Marpole,Vancouver West

I was recently selected by the marpole Oakridge Community Centre to sit on a Vanouver Park Board Committee to name Vancouver's newest park in marpole at W. 72nd Ave and Osler St. Here is the news clip from the Vancouver Courier.

The parks board also officially named another orphaned lot in Marpole at West 72nd at Osler Street. The 0.4-hectare park is named Ebisu, after the Japanese god of fishermen and working men and the protector of children and good luck. The name reflects and celebrates the heritage of the community and acknowledges the history of this area of Marpole that was once home to a thriving Japanese fishing community in the early 1900s. The park includes two playgrounds, a climbing rock, landscaped lawns with pathways and a dry streambed of rocks that empties into an ornamental garden with benches. Official opening ceremonies for both parks will take place in the spring.

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Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Marpole Real Estate in 24 Hours

by Keith Roy (Macdonald Realty Ltd.) on Wed, Nov, 26, 2008 11:14 AM

Categories:Downtown VW,Marpole,Vancouver West

Here is an article from 24Hours newspaper about real estate in Marpole. What Susan Boyce forgot to point out is the striking value of real estate in Marpole. I have a 630sft one bedroom condo for sale at 106-8622 Selkrik St in Marpole for only $225,000. She is correct that it is in an older building, but it has new pipes, windows, roofing and a new hot water boiler.

The Moda project by Aragon is the anomaly in Marpole. It is a quality project with great features. The floor plans, however, leave something to be desired. They are 3 stories high and only have 2 bedrooms. The roof top decks are nice though!

Another major element of Marpole Real Estate that Susan Boyce forgot to talk about was the number of duplex properties in Marpole priced around the $500,000-$700,000 mark.

There have been very few sales in Marpole condos and townhomes in the last few months. In September 2008, there were only 3 attached units that sold in Marpole and I sold 2 of them.

As the leading Marpole Realtor, I can help you find or sell Real Estate in Marpole.

www.MarpoleRealEstate.com

Endless potential in Marpole
By SUSAN M. BOYCE, 24 HOURS

Tucked quietly onto the south edge of Vancouver, Marpole is one of those neighbourhoods most people pass through without a second glance.

It's kind of cute, and it has some shopping. But typically, Marpole is regarded as a place between - between the airport and downtown, between Shaughnessy and Southlands.

Except by the people who live there. They see a neighbourhood with outstanding access to everything from downtown Vancouver to UBC and the Vancouver International Airport, some outstanding boutique shopping and galleries, plus the fun and funky ambiance of areas like South Main or The Drive, but without the noise.

Although Marpole does offer all housing types, there's a strong line of demarcation - most single-family homes are located in the north and east, while west and south is where you'll find multi-family options. Houses are typically unpretentious and with the dated look that falls somewhere between a '50s bungalow and the infamous Vancouver Special.

Single-family homes can be had from the mid-$600,000s with a large percentage of the 70-plus currently listed holding just below the $1 million figure. Once past this benchmark, you're more likely to find a home with a more contemporary design or some renovations, but don't hold your breath too hard - renovations are usually limited to the inside with few adding the gables, covered porches, and decorative trims found in character/heritage homes. The most expensive currently listed is $1.9 million for a 4,800-plus-square-foot home that, though relatively new, lacks significant curb appeal and visual design balance.

Although Marpole has seen virtually no new inventory in the condominium market for a number of years, existing stock in older, solid buildings is typically well priced with one-bedrooms available for $250,000 and up. An anomaly in any market, the least expensive property is a 600-square-foot, two-bedroom offered for $182,000, but with at least the good grace of making no attempt to hide the fact this building is a leaker.

Townhouses are a rarity in Marpole, although the last two years are seeing private developers entering the market with small in-fill projects often spanning one or two lots. Most townhouses are priced from the mid-$500,000s. Resales in the relatively new, 23-unit Moda by Aragon Group run a little higher for a level of quality and contemporary sophistication that would be well suited to Kitsilano. One buyer described it at as "an urban edginess that's like New York and London all wrapped up with West Coast."

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