HQ Real Estate Services principal Mark Goodman tells us the recent sale of two elderly apartment buildings in Vancouver's affluent Kerrisdale neighbourhood has set the stage for redevelopment opportunities in an area with no demolition restrictions. Bel Aire Apartments (pictured below), a three-storey building with 11 suites located at 6356 East Blvd, sold for $5M. Mark, who brokered the deal, says the building, built in 1955, is a “strategic holding property” for an undisclosed buyer who's “looking to the future.” The allure for investors of properties in this part of Kerrisdale: their C2 zoning doesn't prohibit demolition, opening the door to larger-site assemblies and redevelopment.

It’s the same situation with Maple Grove Apartments, just down the road at 6344 East Blvd. The three-storey, 10-unit co-op building (built in 1951) last week sold for $5.2M. It also sits on a C2-zoned site, clearing the way for a future redevelopment of the site. Mark says the value per door of buildings like these is “far above and beyond” what typical apartments are selling for in the city—$125k more per unit in some cases—an indication of the latent value in the land. “And that value can be realized without restriction.”