One often hears that it’s impossible to buy a detached home in Vancouver for under $1 million.

It’s generally true, but it’s not always the case.

A seemingly liveable rancher home with a basement on the West Side of the city sold for less than a million on July 15.

The two-bedroom and one-bath home at 1050 West 70^th Avenue went for $988,000.

The sale came 49 days after the Marpole-area residence was listed on May 27 for $1,245,000.

The price was reduced to $1,088,000 on June 18.

The home is vacant.

The house sits on a lot measuring 30.8 feet by 95 feet, which is smaller than a typical 33- by 122-foot Vancouver lot.

When asked about the deal, realtor and market observer David Hutchinson told the Straight with the property’s RM-3A zoning, it might be good for a builder to demolish the structure and develop a duplex.

“It’s on a busy street,” Hutchinson noted.

It’s within the block west of Oak Street.

As of June 2021, a typical detached home in East Vancouver costs $1,696,500.

Homes are more expensive on the West Side, which includes Marpole.

On the West Side, a typical detached house costs $3,458,300 as of June 2021.

The property at 1050 West 70^th Avenue was marketed mainly for its land value.

Its 2021 assessed value totals $919,600, of which $908,000 is for the lot, and $11,600 for the structure.

Real-estate sites fisherly.com and Zealty.ca tracked the transaction.