Goodman Report reveals the rents, revenue, and profitability of one Vancouver apartment building

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      For years, I've been receiving newsletters from the father-and-son team of David and Mark Goodman, who sell apartment buildings in the Lower Mainland.

      Their Goodman Report should be required reading for anyone interested in what's going on in this segment of the real-estate market, including tenants.

      The most recent newsletter lists the asking prices of seven buildings: 1929 West 3rd Avenue (53 suites, $16.9 million), 531 Lonsdale Avenue (15 suites, $6.52 million), 1715 West 11th Avenue (65 suites, $18.5 million), 2250 York Avenue (14 suites, $5.6 million), a new 82-suite building in the Cambie Corridor ($25.95 million), a 135-suite tower on a high-density development site in New Westminster ($26 million), and 15088 Thrift Avenue in White Rock (nine suites strata-titled, $2.3 million).

      There's an extensive description of Sharmerob Manor—the 40-year-old building at 1929 West 3rd Avenue—including the rents paid in each unit.

      Of the 53 suites, 47 are one-bedroom apartments. Rents range from a low of $974 in unit 112 to a high of $1,695 in unit 205.

      The laundry room will spit out $10,800 in annual revenue, based on an estimate of $900 per month.

      The newsletter states that the effective gross annual income is $808,921 as of September 2012, which will be offset by expenses of $256,644. This leaves an annual operating profit of $552,277.

      The asking sales price per unit is $318,868 and the assessed value of the land and improvements is $11.36 million.

      The owner paid $41,261.66 in property tax in 2011.

      Earlier this week, I interviewed the UN's former special rapporteur on adequate housing, Miloon Kothari, about Vancouver's housing crisis.

      He said that if the city were serious about promoting affordability, it would start by conducting a detailed assessment of where low- and middle-income people live, as well as their housing conditions.

      Imagine how much easier it would be to compile this information if the data in the recent Goodman Report was publicly available for all multifamily rental-apartment buildings across the city.

      Then it would become fairly easy to determine which landlords were gouging tenants and which ones were being more reasonable in how they price their suites.


      Follow Charlie Smith on Twitter at twitter.com/csmithstraight.

      Comments

      18 Comments

      Rent is too high

      Jul 13, 2012 at 5:38pm

      I think its safe to say that all landlords in Vancouver are gouging tenants -- rents are out of control

      Nathan Crompton

      Jul 13, 2012 at 5:45pm

      Thanks for this article Charlie,
      After expenses and maintenance, the landlord at Sharmerob Manor is making $0.5m per year. This means that if the building was run by a non-profit or self-managed by tenants, rents would be almost $900 less per month per tenant. Recently the Vancouver Renters Union has formed on the premise that in the midst of the housing crisis, tenants should enter collective bargaining with their landlords, in possession of the same rights as workers in negotiations with bosses. Obtaining this kind of information is a crucial first step in fighting for fair rents against landlords.
      -Nate, VRU

      brodie31k

      Jul 13, 2012 at 7:41pm

      Nathan,

      You left out of your equation the fact that you have to BUY the building the first place. The article states Sharmerob Manor costs 17 million dollars, which means at $500,000 a year profit it would take 34 years of ownership to actually make a profit.

      The fact that you can leave such an obvious cost out of your "$900 less per month per tenant" calculation says a lot about your knowledge of economics (and reality for that matter) and about the chances your VRU has of succeeding.

      Good luck.

      It's a market

      Jul 13, 2012 at 8:08pm

      I'm not sure why a landlord should charge less to rent the homes that he owns if the market dictates that he can earn those rents. If you owned the building, would you not do the same? How about this, you should make the decision, just like he did, to purchase positive cash flow real estate investments. Then you could charge whatever you like.

      John Maynard Beans

      Jul 13, 2012 at 8:41pm

      Yeah woah dude, the free market is really working great you know!

      In fact, the owner has probably been making another million in capital gains over the past ten years, as prices in Vancouver have doubled. A million and a half a year for a property that probably cost less than $10M ten years ago. Pretty good return for someone who probably doesn't even have a job!

      Taxpayers R Us

      Jul 13, 2012 at 9:46pm

      For all of us - the disappearing middle-class included, please keep up your work on this Charlie, this is getting out of hand.

      Arthur Vandelay

      Jul 13, 2012 at 11:28pm

      Important fact: the $500,000/year "operating profit" that Charlie cites is without the cost of interest. At 3.5% interest, that's just short of $600,000/ year in additional interest cost alone bringing the net income to a net loss. Repayment of principle is above that, making the actual cash position much worse.
      Now all of you people begrudging your landlords should go out and buy them a beer.

      e.a.f.

      Jul 14, 2012 at 12:23am

      Once these buildings are sold you can expect the rents to go up considerly. The new owners want to make a profit & don't want to wait a long time.

      These building may also be purchased by off shore investors who don't care about the condition the building falls into or the needs of the tennants.

      The buildings may also be torn apart & sold as condos. These old style apartments are huge by today's standards.

      People will charge what they can get away with. The Tennants act needs to be strengthened to protect tennants from huge rent increases & to protect landlords from tennants who trash the units.

      No Economist

      Jul 14, 2012 at 4:22am

      I'm no economist, or mathematician, but my friends and I work very hard, we are in our late twenties/early thirties and make above minimum wage yet it is an impossible dream to imagine owning property of our own in Vancouver in our lifetimes. I am unsure what the problem is, but I am hoping that all you experts can help solve our unfortunate situation... it feels really unfair and detrimental to the well-being of future generations.

      brodie31k

      Jul 14, 2012 at 8:44am

      No Economist,

      The problem is that more people want to live in Vancouver then is possible to accommodate them. It is an awesome place to live, and you are and your friends are not the only people who have noticed that. The city is also very limited by its geography, mountains to the north, farmland to the east , U.S to the south. Citizens groups and existing property owners don’t want new towers going up - blocking their view, or ruining their neighborhoods character - which limits supply.

      There is no solution for cheap housing in Vancouver. This is just the reality of the situation. Move to somewhere like Hamilton, Ontario. It’s not as nice as Vancouver but it is not terrible either. It is much more affordable, you and your friends could afford to buy houses there.