Grace Lake South sales 'off expectation'
Councillor suggests price may need to be reconsidered if sales don't pick up
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Five residential building lots in the new Grace Lake South development have sold since going on the market late last fall, short of what the city had expected.
Five of 27 residential lots in the first phase of the new Grace Lake South subdivision have sold so far despite predictions of quick sales. - map courtesy of the City of Yellowknife |
The city began selling 27 lots for single-family detached homes in the first phase of the development on Dec. 1. Pending sales aren't disclosed, so there may be more sales in progress.
"It's off of our expectation," said Wenyan Yu, the city's acting director of planning and development, of the five sales so far. "Although we have a list of potential purchasers, they may have more work to do up front and they may not be ready. This year, we will wait and see whether they come to the city and make the decision to purchase or not."
The city's former director of planning and development Jeff Humble told councillors in April 2014 he was confident the lots south of Kam Lake would "move very quickly." Humble recently left the city for a similar job in Ontario.
Despite the slow sales at Grace Lake South, last year was the city's best in terms of land sales, according to Yu. She said the city still believes there is a market for the subdivision's larger plots overlooking the lake and adjacent to a planned golf course.
The city's website indicates the remaining lots for sale cost between $122,000 for 2,100 square metres and up to $164,000 for 3,250 square metres. The price includes costs the city pays for developing the subdivision, including a roadway.
Homes in the subdivision will require trucked water and sewage service.
The whole development will be three phases, expanding to meet demand, and will have 81 lots.
The city has had previous subdivisions sell out within weeks, Coun. Adrian Bell said.
"That's actually a pretty unhealthy situation," said Bell, who also works as a realtor. "If your lots sell that quickly it's a sure sign that you're doing something wrong and letting demand become so pent up that it impacts property values and makes costs prohibitive to live in the North. So it's far better for a city to have an inventory of available land."
Coun. Niels Konge said he thinks some of the lots may not be priced to reflect the landscape in the area.
"Once we start getting into the springtime we're going to have to really evaluate whether we have them priced right," said Konge, who in the past has called on the city to re-evaluate the price of land that sits on the market for an extended period.
"What it comes down to is what's more important for council: Do we want to have land that's available sitting on the market should they choose to (buy), or do we want to actually support the sale of land and get it sold as fast as possible," Konge said.
Bell said he believes it's too soon to reconsider pricing for that area yet.
Another development known as Hordal Bagon, with 26 lots zoned for modular homes, hit the market days before Grace Lake South. Five lots in that Kam Lake area development have sold so far.
The city is making efforts to maintain a healthy land inventory to maintain supply - residential, commercial, industrial, Yu said.
The city's General Plan from 2011 has a goal of adding 1,385 housing units throughout the city by 2021, with 430 of those in downtown, 138 along Old Airport Road and 55 in Old Town. Councillors were told in May that 64 units had been constructed in downtown, a handful in Old Town and none along Old Airport Road.
Of the total planned, 762 units were supposed to be added in "greenfield" areas - or new developments like Niven, Grace Lake, Hall Crescent.
The update from last year shows 400 have been built, with "significant land" assembled for development in the near term.
