A $1.1-million condominium sale in Sooke this week isn’t all that surprising, says the president of the Victoria Real Estate Board.
David Langlois said there is high demand for “true oceanfront property” with unobstructed views.
And as those types of properties dwindle in the core region, outlying areas such as Sooke, which has plenty of oceanfront, are providing developers like Fitzpatrick Enterprises opportunities to build “high quality condos in that type of waterfront setting,” said Langlois
The 950-square-foot penthouse condo of The Residences on Sooke Harbour fetched $1.1 million in a resale — or about $1,160 per square foot.
It’s a record price for a condominium unit in Sooke, easily outpacing the previous mark by about $300,000.
“[Fitzpatrick] are building a quality product — and have more planned — that are a significant step above what’s out there,” said Langlois.
“People are coming to Victoria from the middle of Ontario or Alberta … and what we sometimes take for granted, this is earth-shattering to them,” he said.
“Unobstructed ocean views are the new type of trophy properties.”
The four-storey Residences on Sooke Harbour is just above Sooke’s federal wharf, with views of the Sooke Basin and the Olympic Mountain Range.
The 27-unit project by father Daniel Fitzpatrick and sons Jesse and John, and built by Homewood Construction, was completed in 2020 and sold out this year.
Sooke’s population is booming as more home buyers look west for affordable options amid rising prices and a sinking supply of inventory in the core areas, said Langlois.
He said the Victoria Real Estate Board expects inventory to be “well below 1,000 properties” for sale by the end of the month.