Reliance Properties of Vancouver has unveiled an ambitious plan to build “about 500” micro condos in East Vancouver, mostly in the East Village area of East Hastings Street. Most of the tiny condos will be in the 300 square foot range, according to company president Jon Sovell.
Reliance tested the market with the completion of the successful Burns Block renovation in downtown Vancouver, a rental project with apartments as small as 270 square feet.
Reliance rented out all the tiny apartments for an average of $1,000 per month. Despite critics, Sovell said all the units rented in a week through free ads on Craigslist, nearly all to young downtown workers.
After proving small can be popular, Reliance is now renovating an old hotel in Victoria into 100 micro condos that Sovell said would start at $120,000, or about one-third the average price of a Victoria condominium selling through MLS.
Sovell expects buyers to be a mix of owner-occupiers and investors.
If Burns Block rents can be achieved investors could see positive cash flow with small condos, since rental rates are around $3 per square foot or better.
In January, developer Tien Sher will start selling Balance, a micro-condo project in Surrey Central where units as small as 290 square feet will be offered from $109,900. (With a 5 per cent downpayment, mortgage payments would be around $600 a month.) Sixty-percent of the 56 Balance condos are 300 square feet or less.
