Vancouver tax auction lists 1.7-million-dollar house at 72,000-dollar reserve

A house on Windsor Street in East Vancouver carries an official BC Assessment valuation of more than 1.7 million dollars. On Wednesday it goes under the hammer at the city's annual tax auction with a reserve price of 72,051 dollars — the exact amount of unpaid property tax the owner owes.

The reserve, or upset price, is set by the amount of taxes owed to the city, which means the auction's headline prices tell the reader almost nothing about what a property actually costs. The Windsor Street house, with its overgrown yard, weathered shingles and disintegrated back stairs, is one of 116 properties listed in this year's Vancouver tax sale. Properties reach the list only after three years of unpaid taxes, and after auction day the current owner retains a full year to redeem the property by paying up, refunding the winning bidder with interest.

The structure explains why the auction is largely theatre. Ron Usher, a retired notary public, calls tax sales 'not for the faint of heart or the inexperienced' and suspects many are 'more whoops than deliberate' — inherited homes with nobody minding the paperwork. Sean Holden, a Vancouver Realtor of roughly three decades, describes bidding as 'an exercise in futility' and steers clients away: 'I wouldn't waste my time.' According to the City of Vancouver, only three properties have actually changed hands through the tax sale in the last ten years, because taxes on almost all properties are paid within the redemption window.

The listings nonetheless read like a map of the city's wealth extremes. Two side-by-side houses on Point Grey Road — among Canada's most exclusive addresses, steps from Jericho Beach and the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club, and neighbours to Lululemon billionaire Chip Wilson's 73-million-dollar home, the most valuable in British Columbia — are valued at around five and six million dollars with upset prices of about 289,000 and 355,000 dollars. Those reserves are around half the benchmark price of an ordinary Vancouver apartment.

Meanwhile the broader market is cooling. The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board reports 5,603 homes changed hands in the Greater Toronto Area in October, down 7.9 per cent year-on-year, with the average selling price down 2.7 per cent to 1,024,108 dollars and the composite benchmark price down 4.3 per cent. TRREB president Daniel Steinfeld says would-be buyers are waiting on Canada-U.S. trade negotiations and the Middle East conflict before committing.

The city's own posting urges bidders to do their research, notes it is not responsible for the condition of the homes, and warns them not to trespass. It would not disclose which homes actually changed hands without a freedom of information request.