Residential speculation has dominated news coverage in Vancouver recently, being blamed in part for driving average detached house prices up as high as 40 per cent in some neighourhoods.
The following provides details of a specific residential flip that shows how some speedy investors have cashed in.
In July 2015, a private investor listed on documents as Demen Estate Ltd. of Vancouver purchased four detached houses in the 400 block of West 49th Avenue in Vancouver for $18 million. The entire site covers 0.66 of an acre, according to RealNet documents obtained by Western Investor.
Demen had been formed two years earlier according to the B.C. Corporate Registry. The Demen Estates signing officer for the West 49th purchase was Maosheng Li.
The mortgage financing for the purchase is listed on RealNet documents as the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, which has been active in a number of Metro Vancouver residential transactions.
Ten months later, in April of 2016, Demen sold the four contiguous properties, which had been assembled into a single parcel, for $25 million, which pencils to $860 per square foot.
The purchaser was another private investor, Transca Vancouver West 49th Ave. Ltd, which lists a Richmond, B.C. address. The Transca signing officer for the deal was He Zhu.
The gross profit on the transaction for Demen Estate in the 10-month deal: $7 million.
