Buyers flocked to the power line near their home in Sreenivasan

METRO VANCOUVER — Interest has been intense for homes along the Tsawwassen right-of-way that went up for sale last weekend.

According to B.C. Hydro, more than 600 people have registered to view the first 20 houses to hit the market and the Crown Corporation says it has already received nine offers.

Nearly five hundred people visited the presentation centre home, located at 53A Street over the weekend and the response was extremely positive, said spokesperson Dag Sharman.

BC Hydro purchased 104 homes earlier this year from those who didn’t want to live next to higher voltage power lines that were installed last summer. It plans to re-sell all the houses acquired through the province’s voluntary buy-out program.

Marketed as Tsawwassen Heights, most of the homes were built in the 1960s and ’70s. They range from a “classic fixer-upper” on 53A Street, listed at $479,000, to an “executive home” on 49B Street, which has an asking price of $709,000.

When the show centre opened Monday afternoon, a middle-age couple was already inside talking to a real estate agent, perusing the list and remarking how they were looking for something in the range of low $400,000 to the high $500,000 range.

Shortly before he had to greet another couple that had arrived, Jake Moldowan with Re/Max said there’s been a lot of excitement from prospective buyers.

“I’ve never been at a more positive site. The people that came here were extremely positive,” he said.

“We had a whole lot of people with various interests and preferences and it’s because of the type of product we have. The challenge in marketing here is that it is not like your normal development where a developer would build a certain type of product for a certain type of target customer.

“Here we have a product for first-time-buyers, move-up buyers, retirees, so our marketing was more generic so we wouldn’t turn off any particular segment of the marketplace.”

“Nearly 10 per cent of the inquiries that have been from people interested in a rental investment property were of those from outside the municipality as well as outside Metro Vancouver”  said  Moldowan.

“Surprisingly, from Van East and Van West there was a big draw, and from Richmond. The other thing that stood out was that there was number of people who were renting in the area that are looking to purchase,” he said

Moldowan stressed on the fact that prospective buyers aren’t looking for a bargain, but are seeking quality homes at “fair market value.”

Delta South MLA Vicki Huntington said she was surprised to hear so many offers had already been submitted, saying she’s concerned prospective buyers don’t understand the history of the corridor or haven’t read reports that cast a more concerning light on EMF exposure.

“You have to look at all the information out there, not just what Hydro wants you to see … I just hope young families with children or young couples planning on having children take this step very carefully. The science is not conclusive and, I think, they’re putting their children possibly at risk,” she said.

sgyarmati@delta-optimist.com

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun