For the second time in the development's lifetime, Jill Carter is gearing up to sell Aqua's carriage homes and units.
"We had 80 per cent of the tower sold once already," the Remax Sea to Sky Real Estate agent said while walking through the hallway of the 114-unit condominium complex.
The development hit murky waters 18 months ago. At the time, the bank backing the project decided to pull its support. The then proponent, Thomas Ivanore, blamed the bank's withdrawal on the economic downturn and Squamish council's decision not to allow 55 condos to replace the development's 16 townhouses.
In December 2009, the Bowra Group Inc. was appointed receiver of the project's assets. The financial advisory services firm secured funding to complete construction of Phases 2 and 3 of the development. The work was handed to Mierau Contractors Ltd.
The development's history seems to be stigma in Squamish residents' minds, Carter said, something she is battling as she gets ready to resell the units.
"We definitely want to educate people on the project and its engineering," she said.
Approximately 40 per cent of sales to date are to Squamish residents, Carter said, noting all the original deposits were returned. A lot of the initial buyers were investors, she said. With the economic downturn, they've disappeared, but Carter is hoping for a strong local buying force this time around.
So far, 64 of the 114 condos remain on the market, ranging in price from $239,000 to $390,000. Sixteen of the 35 carriage homes are up for grabs, which all fall between $339,000 and $379,000. Remax, the team dealing with the units, expects to have them all sold by next July, Carter said.
The project is a big benefit to the community, Carter said. Once sold, the development represents housing for more than 100 individuals.
Although the receivership sale doesn't seem to be affecting Squamish's single-family or townhouse listings, it has created a drop in prices for the condominium market, said Lisa Bjornson, Royal LePage Black Tusk Realty agent.
"Aqua may be impacting the retail sale of apartments," she said.
The Multiple Listing Service indicated that last year, between January to August, of the 146 apartments on the market in Squamish, 50 sold. This year, over the same time period, 148 apartments are for sale, but only 29 units have sold.
The number of detached single-family houses for sale in Squamish is up six compared to last year - 348.
"There is not much variation in the listing inventory," Bjornson noted.
Of the houses on the market, 123 now have new owners. Last year, 125 sales took place.
