This two-storey home in Vancouver was built in 1907 and sits on a 25-foot-wide lot.Supplied
838 E. Pender St., Vancouver
Asking price: $1,989,000 (May 4)
Selling price: $1,950,000 (May 9)
Days on market: Five
Taxes: $7,793.24 (2025)
Listing agents: Rick Stonehouse, Dwayne Launt and Shaun Gregory, Oakwyn Realty
The home’s kitchen has been updated.Supplied
The action
The sellers had lived in the home for many years.
“This was two bedrooms and kind of a funky layout on the top floor,” listing agent Dwayne Launt said. “It doesn’t have the three bedrooms, two baths up, what everyone thinks every young family is looking for. And the buyer said, ‘Oh this is perfect.’”
The buyer was a local area resident. Two other people showed interest but didn’t want to compete so didn’t make offers, he said.
The sale completed July 8.
There is a room upstairs off one of the two bedrooms that could either serve as a flex room or a third bedroom.Supplied
What they got
The Strathcona character house was built in 1907 and sits on a 25-foot-wide lot, typical at that time. With refinished fir floors throughout, and updates to the kitchen and bathrooms, the bright home showed well, Mr. Launt said.
Perks included a perfectly turnkey house that didn’t require any work, a two-car garage to the rear, a tastefully landscaped garden front and back, and an enclosed front porch. Quirks included a room off one of the two bedrooms that could either serve as a flex room or a third bedroom.
The two-storey house is in the village-like Strathcona heritage neighbourhood near downtown, a popular bike route and close to the new St. Paul’s Hospital.
The backyard has landscaped gardens.Supplied
The agent’s take
Many buyers are looking for turnkey homes that don’t require renovations. Also, pockets of the city are doing better than others.
“You just need that one buyer who says this will be their home, someone who walks in and they say, ‘oh this is interesting.’ That person who really, really wants it, they’re the ones who are going to step up and pay what they feel it’s worth to them, and that’s all that matters. Not really what the market is bearing.”
But now that summer has arrived, the market has slowed down for many agents who are booking their holidays, he said.
“It’s definitely slowed down, and I think it will continue to. It’s just natural,” Mr. Launt said.