Segals list Point Grey mansion for an astounding $63 million
The air of Vancouver real estate is rarefied for ordinary purchasers, but prominent philanthropists Joseph and Rosalie Segal are reaching for the top of the luxury market with a $63-million asking price for their palatial Point Grey mansion.
That price would set a record for Metro Vancouver, according to a statement from Sotheby’s International Realty Canada.
The Segals’ home isn’t listed on the real estate industry’s Multiple Listing Service. The most expensive listing there is $46.8 million for Majestic Estate, a 1912 heritage property on Tecumseh Avenue in the heart of Shaughnessy.
The Segals’ 21,977-square-foot Belmont Estate property boasts ocean views above Spanish Banks, gallery halls with seating for up to 100 guests for private events and a sweeping grand staircase beneath a French Ormolu chandelier, according to the realtor.
“No other property of comparison has been offered in Greater Vancouver to date,” said Christa Frosch, Sotheby’s listing agent for the property, and “the fact that its long-standing owners are beloved in our community for their philanthropic dedication to the city of Vancouver only adds to the home’s heritage,” she added.
The home is located on a gently sloping 0.5-hectare lot in the prime Vancouver neighbourhood with a tiered three-level garden lined with mature sequoia trees, golden spruce and more than 12,000 blooming flowers such as tulips and hyacinths, complemented by rhododendrons, magnolia and lilac trees.
The Segals are putting their home on the market at a time when Vancouver’s luxury real estate market is experiencing “unprecedented uncertainty,” according to a report issued earlier this year by Sotheby’s International, due to B.C.’s 15 per cent foreign buyers tax and a general slowdown in the market.
At the time the Sotheby’s report was released, sales of luxury homes, defined as transactions over $4 million, had fallen precipitously in the first couple of months of 2017 compared with 2016, although the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver’s more recent reports have recorded something of a rebound.
A sale close to the $63-million asking price would eclipse any recent top-end sale in the city by a wide margin, according to a list compiled for Postmedia by the property data firm Landcor Data Corp.
Sotheby’s did not release the address, but property records show the Segals own a home at 4743 Belmont Ave. that was valued by B.C. Assessment at $40.3 million.
In other nearby west-side neighbourhoods, the median house price in May was $3.4 million, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver — about 3.5 per cent less than the same month a year ago.
The April 2016 sale of nearby 4833 Belmont Ave. for $31.1 million is the most expensive singlefamily transaction in the last two years, according to the Landcor research. B.C. Assessment pegged that property at $33.7 million for 2017. 4726 Belmont sold for $29.5 million in September 2016 and was assessed at $24.9 million for 2017 tax purposes.
The most expensive sale so far in 2017 was 3403 Point Grey Rd., which changed hands for $17.6 million in March, according to Landcor’s research.
The Segals have long been prominent members of Vancouver’s philanthropic circles, giving generously to causes ranging from the Variety Club and B.C. Children’s Hospital Foundation to the United Way and Simon Fraser University.
Joseph, 92, is well-known in Vancouver business circles for his self-made success. He founded the Fields department store chain, which segued into his family’s holding company, Kingswood Capital. In 2010, the Segals turned heads with a $12-million donation to the VGH and UBC Hospital Foundation to help establish a new 100-bed facility for mental health care.