A condo for sale in Vancouver’s Coal Harbour neighbourhood leans on its ocean and mountain views to appeal to potential buyers — as well as its owner, who apparently never even lived in the unit.
Apartment 3001 in The Lions at 1331 Alberni Street was listed for sale this week for $1.5 million. To market itself, it leans into the somewhat taboo topic of foreign ownership.
“Overseas owner, never lived in. Like brand new unit,” the unit’s description reads.
3001-1331 Alberni Street
Listing agent Kai Zhao didn’t respond to Daily Hive’s request for comment on the three-bedroom, two-bathroom unit. But realtor Jeff Appelbe told Daily Hive remarks about an overseas owner in a sale aren’t uncommon in Vancouver — though those comments usually stay between agents and don’t make it to public listings.
“This sums up the problem [with] Vancouver real estate, right?” Appelbe said. “It’s one of a handful of reasons why we are among the least affordable cities on the planet. Money laundering, weak rules, weak enforcement, and bad government policy are other contributing factors.”
3001-1331 Alberni Street
There is furniture in the unit, suggesting someone has stayed there even if it may not have been the owner’s primary home. Appelbe suspected it could be a pied-a-terre for someone who lives elsewhere, or a place for a child attending school in Vancouver.
Canada enacted a ban on foreigners purchasing property in January 2023 to alleviate the housing crisis. The ban will remain in place until at least 2027.
“Foreign commercial enterprises and people who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents will continue to be prohibited from purchasing residential property in Canada,” Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a news release back in February.
This owner appears to have owned the condo since 2009 or 2010 — the last time sale activity was recorded for the unit.
High mortgage rates are encouraging investor landlords to dump their units, especially for those with multi-year tenants whose rent revenues are no longer covering their increased mortgage payments, Appelbe said. As China’s economy slows down, he’s also seeing owners based there try to cash out of their Vancouver properties.
Analysts with CIBC Capital Markets predicted this month that Vancouver condos will remain a buyer’s market through the end of 2025 before prices pick back up in 2026 and 2027.
For now, Vancouver’s condo market is relatively soft, with prices not rapidly increasing as they have for most of the past decade.
What do you think of the condo listing at 1331 Alberni Street? Let us know in the comments.