Europeans have eye on local real estate
Established broker switches to company that’s been eyeing Canada
One of Europe’s leading luxury real estate firms is setting up shop in Vancouver, and its arrival is an indicator that wealthy Europeans have their eye on Vancouver, says one real estate analyst.
The Engel & Völkers office in Vancouver will be owned by Greg Carros of the Carros Group, a real estate brokerage that has operated as Sotheby’s International Realty’s Vancouver office the past five years.
The German-based Engel & Völkers, which has been expanding rapidly in North America, already had its sights on Vancouver, where demand for the most expensive properties has jumped by more than 20 per cent since September 2014, according to British consulting firm Knight Frank.
“I don’t want them to be my competition,” Carros said. “I was impressed with the Engel & Völkers brand, the image they have worldwide, their marketing and their scope of clients and listings.”
Despite the company’s reputation for catering to the international elite, Carros said he expects the Vancouver office to deal in transactions at all price levels as the city is “not deep enough for solely luxury.”
The Carros Group’s Yaletown office will be converted to Engel & Völkers colours by Dec. 1. Carros plans to bring his 37 agents and staff with him, and hire more people as he opens offices in Vancouver’s west side and east side, West Vancouver and North Vancouver.
Vancouver housing prices may be increasingly unaffordable to locals, but on a global scale our property prices are a bargain. Throw in a weak loonie, and Canada is essentially on sale for deeppocketed foreign buyers.
“From that point of view, people from outside don’t feel our prices are outrageous,” Carros said. “People feel Canada is a safe place, and they’re coming here for a variety of reasons, including lifestyle, schools, universities. It’s a safe place to live.”
Real estate analyst Don Campbell said Vancouver is especially appealing for wealthy Europeans who are spooked by ongoing turmoil on the continent and are looking to place their capital elsewhere.
“They’ve identified Canada as a safe haven for capital,” Campbell said, noting the locations of Engel & Völkers offices in Canada, including Toronto, Victoria, Collingwood and now Vancouver, “are markets Germans and other Northern Europeans want to put their money into.”
The Vancouver office will cater to a formidable combination of European and Asian money, Campbell said, noting while Asian buyers are focused on the higher-end markets of $3 million and above, European buyers tend to favour homes in the low $1-million range.
Asked what continued foreign investment will mean to Vancouver’s housing prices, Campbell said average homeowners will benefit from the global influx of capital, but acknowledged it’s a tougher situation for younger people or those without a foothold in the market.