West Coast Modern
5405 Greentree Rd., West Vancouver, B.C.
Asking price: $1.798-million (Nov. 9, 2021)
Selling price: $1.81-million (Nov. 16, 2021)
Days on market: 7
Taxes: $4,990 (2022)
Listing agent: Trent Rodney, West Coast Modern
The action
The seller had lived in the house since the 1970s.West Coast Modern
Listing agent Trent Rodney has a large database of buyers looking for mid-century homes. He held 48 private tours after listing the house and received three offers. The buyers – who made the offer after a relative viewed the house for them – are a young family. The deal completed in February.
What they got
The house had a leak from the roof that went into the living room.West Coast Modern
Legendary West Coast modernist architect Ron Thom built this 2,076-square-foot house on the 12,633 square-foot treed lot in the Caulfield neighbourhood in 1959. But it needed love, with the roof leaking into the living room and only one (dated) bathroom.
Bedroom carpets were stained and worn, so they were torn out before viewings. The kitchen needs a renovation, and the siding needs repair. But original features such as the custom-made lanterns and polished copper details on the fireplace, as well as unique wood-plastic composite flooring, were intact. The seller had lived in the house since the 1970s.
The agent’s take
Original features such as the custom-made lanterns and polished copper details on the fireplace, as well as unique wood-plastic composite flooring, are still intact.West Coast Modern
The listing agent, who specializes in mid-century modern and contemporary homes, says that most of the 2,000-plus architectural homes built in the 1950s and 70s on the north shore have been torn down. Today, there is a strong market for the remaining houses, and Mr. Rodney says none of the houses he’s sold have been torn down so far. He estimates the house needs about $500,000 worth of work, including new decks and roof.
“This house would have been torn down for sure. You can see it’s almost moldy,” said Mr. Rodney, who goes door-to-door in search of architectural houses. “But it can be polished up and brought back. The new owner is obsessed with it.”
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