…Yaletown Park CREDIT: Vancouver Sun File   It’s a similar story for The Shaw Tower and … CREDIT: Vancouver Sun File   The penthouse in the Carina project was sold to Americans. CREDIT: Vancouver Sun File

A growing number of wealthy Americans are snapping up luxury residences in Greater Vancouver, attracted by the area’s amenities and lifestyle, along with the value offered by their investment and the safety and security of living in Canada.

One investor from Atlanta has reportedly purchased 10 condos in Vancouver, including one of the few available units at the upscale Shaw Tower in Coal Harbour, paying $1.65 million for the 2,000-square-foot suite.

“He saw what happened to property values in Atlanta with the 1996 Olympics there,” said realtor Bob Rennie.

“Americans are buying Vancouver as a safe place to invest and as a safe place to live. They are cognizant of the fact the Vancouver-Whistler area is hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics.”

In late February, when Rennie launched marketing of Yaletown Park, an 850-unit condo project in Yaletown, among the hundreds of prospective purchasers who lined up overnight were people from Seattle and San Francisco.

Currently, Americans make up about 15 per cent of those buying smaller homes, but when waterfront properties are factored in, the number of U.S. purchasers exceeds 25 per cent, Rennie said.

Developer Bruce Langereis said Americans comprise “at least 30 per cent” of the purchasers at his two luxury Coal Harbour condo towers, called Carina and Callisto.

At the 92-unit Carina, the $3.5 million penthouse suite is owned by an American, while two other Americans bought the two sub-penthouses in Callisto, each paying about $2.2 million.

Still others from south of the border are looking at purchasing the $5.5-million penthouse at Callisto, a 128-unit building scheduled for occupancy near the end of 2004.

“Our American buyers are mostly from the western U.S., such as people from Arizona trying to escape their summer heat for six months,” said Langereis, president of Delta Land Development.

“A lot of them say they would like to stay a lot longer, but Canadian immigration will only allow U.S. visitors to stay for a maximum of six months.

“They like our cheap golf, variety of food, and everything. And our real estate prices — compared to major U.S. cities — are so reasonable.”

In September, an unidentified American business executive from Houston, Tex., purchased the 5,700-square-foot penthouse at the $110-million, 57-unit One Harbour Green residential tower in Coal Harbour, paying $6.02 million — the highest price ever for a condo in Vancouver.

In West Vancouver, about 25 per cent of all purchasers of $1-million-plus homes are Americans, particularly from California or the eastern U.S., such as Chicago and New York, according to realtor Jason Soprovich.

“They’re very seasoned and recognize excellent value, investment-wise,” said Soprovich, of Prudential Sussex Realty, who sold about $38 million worth of properties in 2003.

“About half of them are buying homes as secondary residences, while the other half are moving here permanently, either on transfer from another occupation, or changing companies.

“The U.S. market has grown exponentially over the last three or four years. These Americans are fantastic to deal with, every one of them. They’re very knowledgeable buyers.”

The heated interest from Americans seeking to invest in Lower Mainland residential real estate has recently prompted three young Vancouver entrepreneurs to sink their life savings into buying the local rights to the so-called Real Estate Book.

It has with different editions published and distributed in more than 400 North American cities.

This free reader’s digest-sized magazine showcases realtors, developers and their projects in each local market, and any edition is available to the public by calling a toll-free 800 number.

“The 2010 Olympics have put Vancouver‘s real estate market on the world map,” said Andrew Powler, principal owner of the Vancouver edition. “Foreign investors — especially Americans — are buying property in the Lower Mainland like never before.”

The Vancouver book is currently 32 pages and growing, Powler said, adding: “They’ll each be at 80 pages in less than a year.”

In the Vancouver area, Powler’s publication is available in “little green boxes” at busy intersections and outside Starbucks coffee shops, as well as at various restaurants, automobile dealerships and gyms.

© The Vancouver Sun 2004