In my years of working in UBC Real Estate, I have often asked by Buyers “Where should I buy in UBC?” UBC has 5 distinct neighbourhoods and each with its very own uniqueness, character, and personality.    

In this week’s UBC Realty Blog, I’ll give an overview of the neighbourhoods in UBC.

Hampton Place was established in the early 1990’s. This is the oldest residential neighbourhood in UBC.  In Hampton Place, there are a total of 957 residential units located in 11 buildings with each building widely spaced. This area is also close to the Rashpal Dhillon Track & Field Oval, Thunderbird Park, Save-On-Foods, and University Hill Secondary School. This neighbourhood has approximately 2,000 residents living here.  Many of the original residents were retirees and older adults, but today, there are many families with children.  Average 2 Bedroom UBC Condos in Hampton Place run about $630,000.

The East Campus is bound by University Boulevard on its northern border, Agronomy Road on its southern border, and Wesbrook Mall on its western border, and Acadia Road on its eastern border. This is an area favoured by families with children studying at the UBC. The reason that families find it desirable to live here is because of its central location. Also, it has many amenities within walking distances, i.e. Starbucks coffee, a Food court, Staples, Gold’s Gym, and a Grocery store. Average 2 Bedroom UBC Condos in East Campus are about $688,000. However, Buyers can find 2 Bedroom UBC Condos starting price at around $550,000.

Hawthorn Place provides a variety of housing options, including faculty and staff rental housing, faculty and staff co-development housing and family housing. This is a very Family-Friendly neighbourhood. The area incorporates a greenway and 3 parks. Families also enjoy the many activities offered at the Old Barn Community Centre. Pedestrian paths and cycling routes replace parking areas and assist in traffic calming. Average 2 Bedroom UBC Condos in Hawthorn Place are about $773,000.

Located north of the Gage Residences, Chancellor Place is bound by Wesbrook Mall on its eastern border, and Chancellor Boulevard on its northern Border. Restored to its original grandeur, the granite Iona Building stands at the head of this neighbourhood. Duplex townhomes along Chancellor Boulevard are complemented by apartment condominiums in the interior of the neighbourhood. Average 2 Bedroom UBC Condos in Chancellor Place are about $1,042,000, although you will find many 2 Bedroom UBC Condos at Chancellor Place that are less than that.

UBC's latest family housing initiative stretches across 110 acres of South Campus. When completed, Wesbrook Village will be the largest neighbourhood on UBC's Vancouver campus. Over 12,500 students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni and members of the general public will live here in a mix of townhouses and apartments. Average 2 Bedroom UBC Homes in Wesbrook Village are about $869,000.

As a UBC Realtor, I am here to help newcomers find their suitable neighbourhood and home. If you are looking for UBC Condos or UBC Townhouses and would like more information, please contact UBC Homes today or call me anytime at 778-991-0649.

Many people living in UBC have wondered how their property value has changed in recent months. Certainly the media has painted a bleak picture of the Real Estate market in the Greater Vancouver area. I like to take this opportunity to present data from the UBC Real Estate market in 2012.

Above graph illustrate the AVERAGE SOLD PRICE of Attached (Townhouse) and Apartment (Condo) in UBC for the last 5 years.

As seen from the graph, the AVERAGE SOLD PRICE OF Attached and Apartment has been going up steadily since 2008. For Apartment, the price peaked in 2011 at AVERAGE SOLD PRICE OF $812,511. And for Attached (Townhouse), the price peaked in 2010 at AVERAGE SOLD PRICE OF $1,281,516.

At the same time, looking at these figures, it is important to keep everything in perspective. As the AVERAGE SOLD PRICE combines prices of from properties in older residential area, i.e. Hampton Place, and newer neighbourhood, i.e. Wesbrook Village.

Thus, the value of a specific property may differ significant from the AVERAGE SOLD PRICE. It is always important to contact your UBC Real Estate Specialist concerning your property value.

One might ask the question "why the AVERAGE SOLD PRICE of Apartment is going down while the AVERAGE SOLD PRICE OF Attached is going up?"

One explanation for the Attached (Townhouse) price going up is that UBC is developing and building more properties. However, most of the new developments are in the Apartments (Condos). Therefore, the supply of Attached properties has been limited. At the same time, as the population of UBC grows, the demand for Townhouses is increase and translates into higher price.

Looking at the Apartment (Condo), price dropped by about 10% compared to 2011. As mentioned previously, the supply of Condos has increased steadily in UBC. Especially, new condo development in Wesbrook Village and East Campus, e.g. Pacific, Spirit, Ultima, Yu, Academy, Sage, Sitka, and Sale.

For more information about the value of your property, please contact Sam Huang at 778-991-0649.