West Van waterfront mansion tops assessment rolls at $27.3 million

Mansions in the British Properties with expansive views over Burrard Inlet and secluded waterfront estates with infinity pools continue to be well represented among the upper strata of property ownership in the Lower Mainland.

Seventy-seven homes in West Vancouver (and one in North Vancouver) were on BC Assessment’s list of the top 500 assessments in the province this year.

Among the top assessments on the North Shore, architecturally designed homes in beachfront West Bay and Sandy Cove neighbourhoods continue to rank among the highest assessed properties.

West Bay waterfront home tops assessment rolls

Topping the list, as it often does: a five-bedroom six-bath mansion on the West Bay waterfront in West Vancouver, custom designed by architect Russell Hollingsworth on a large property at 3330 Radcliffe Ave., valued at $27.331 million. That value is up slightly over last year’s assessment of $26.5 million, but still less than the stratospheric value of over $35 million, which the property reached in 2017 and 2018.

A Chartwell mansion at 1690 Marlowe Place in the British Properties valued at $21.779 million clocked in as the second-highest assessment.

Despite its sky-high assessment, the six-bedroom 13-bathroom home of nearly 20,000 square feet is worth 10 per cent less than the $24.26 million it was worth last year, and about $10 million less than it was worth in 2017.

The third highest assessment on the North Shore was also a familiar address: another West Vancouver Hollingsworth-designed Dundarave waterfront mansion. The three-bedroom, seven-bathroom 9,000 square foot home, on a large property at 2588 Bellevue Ave., was valued at $21.6 million.

Rounding out the top 10 highest assessments were similar homes in the same neighbourhoods, valued at between $17.3 million and $20.3 million.

Assessed values are meant to provide a snapshot of value as of July 1 each year. But those assessments don't always reflect the potential sale price of a property.

One top-assessed West Vancouver property, on a large lot at 4343 Erwin Dr., was assessed at $17.49 million, despite selling for $19 million in March 2020 – the highest real estate sale on the North Shore last year.

Nine sales in West Van topped $10 million in 2020

According to Landcor Data Corp., there were nine properties that sold for over $10 million in West Vancouver in 2020.

Among those was a large top-floor condo in West Vancouver’s new Grosvenor building, assessed at $10.3 million, which sold for $16 million in December.

Other top sales included a seven-bedroom, 11-bathroom mansion at 791 Eyremount Dr. in the British Properties with a heated driveway, indoor pool, home theatre, wine cellar, gym and marble baths that sold for $13.7 million.

Another architect-designed 14,000-square-foot Altamont mansion with six bedrooms, 10 bathrooms and a four-car garage at 2990 Palmerston also sold for $13.7 million.

In the District of North Vancouver, the top North Vancouver assessment was a secluded 14-acre compound in the woods above Deep Cove, at 2250 Indian River Cres., assessed at $11.8 million. The property includes a 9,000-square-foot custom West Coast home as well as a pond and Japanese-inspired garden. In November 2017, the property set a record when it was listed for sale for $36.2 million the highest asking price ever in the district.

Many of North Vancouver's other top assessed properties continue to be found in a neighbourhood on the Dollarton waterfront, on Beachview Drive and Lowry Lane, ranging in value from $8.5 million to just under $10 million.

North Van home with private elevator sells for $9.6 million

One of those - a 7,000-square-foot home with a private elevator at 688 Beachview – was assessed at $8.7 million on July 1, but sold for $9.6 million just three days later, making it the top North Vancouver sale in 2020.

An architectural 2019-built home on the waterfront at 1840 Naomi Place was the second-highest sale at $6.6 million in April 2020.

City's top 10 all waterfront condos

All of the City of North Vancouver's top 10 assessments were waterfront condominiums, ranging in assessed value from $4.58 million to over $7.5 million.

The top assessment in the city was a penthouse suite in a waterfront condominium tower at 1301-199 Victory Ship Way, assessed at $7.55 million. Eight of the top assessed condos were in a neighbouring building at 175 Victory Ship Way.

The highest assessment for a single-family home in the city was a relatively new five-bedroom, six-bathroom home at 355 Somerset St. The home, built in 2016 in the Tempe Heights neighbourhood, was assessed at $3.6 million.