Squamish is quickly losing its reputation as the small, sleepy pit stop on the road between Vancouver and Whistler.
When Matthew Spitzer bought his two-bedroom condo in Squamish, B.C., three years ago, the home had been in foreclosure for months and Mr. Spitzer snapped it up for a bargain. But as he found out when he sold his condo last month just days after putting it on the market, Squamish is quickly losing its reputation as the small, sleepy pit stop on the road between Vancouver and Whistler.
As detached homes in Vancouver skyrocket out of reach of most buyers, young families are venturing further afield in search of affordable housing. Many are making the drive north along the Sea to Sky Highway to Squamish.
Home sales in the community of nearly 18,000 were up 58 per cent in May compared to last year, the local real-estate board reported. Average resale prices in the community have jumped 10 per cent to nearly $450,000, while detached homes have soared more than 20 per cent. Much of that growth is being fuelled by buyers trading their condos in Vancouver for detached homes in Squamish.
In Valleycliffe, a family-friendly neighbourhood that’s at the first highway exit toward Vancouver, prices have soared by $100,000 in the last two months alone, says Squamish realtor Brian Loverin.
For an extra $40,000, Aaron Hall and his young family traded a townhouse in Burnaby for a 2,200-square-foot, four-bedroom house in Squamish with a view of the mountains and a swimming hole in the backyard. “It’s still affordable for a young family who doesn’t own anything to try to get into the market,” said Mr. Hall, whose children are 1 and 3.
His commute to Vancouver, where Mr. Hall works in the film industry and his wife Beki is a pharmacy technician, takes 40 minutes and is traffic-free. “It’s probably one of the nicest commutes in the world,” he says. “I literally get goosebumps driving home, with the sun setting over the islands and ocean.”
Upgrades to the Sea to Sky Highway for the 2010 Olympics and a new gondola that opened last year are attracting both commuters and tourists. Proposals for a new liquefied natural gas terminal and a four-season resort, while controversial, bring the promise of new jobs and more visitors.
Already the community is experiencing a building boom, including homes with Vancouver-style prices. In Crumpit Woods, a new subdivision marketed toward high-end buyers, builders are marketing homes with $1-million price tags.
All that change, coupled with a hot real-estate market, convinced Mr. Spitzer, 28, that it was time to move on. He recently bought a house in Agassiz, B.C., nearly three hours away. “I was able to get a three-bedroom with a yard for $300,000, and you really can’t find that here any more.”