An apartment (or condo) should be relatively easy to uncover the price, right? I mean they are ubiquitous "boxes stacked on top of each other," so one could just look at what the neighbour sold for, and ask accordingly... Unfortunately its not that easy.
Condo's are typically priced on a per/square foot basis and that can be skewed widely by going by the official "strata plan" measurement or the "actual measured" square footage. It's really important to truly understand what measurement is being marketed (at $950/sq ft a discrepancy of 23 sq. ft could have a buyer over-paying $21,850 + the taxes and fees applied to this purchase price amount). Make sure you're reviewing the documentation closely with your agent, and always check the strata plan measurement.
Location is the key determinate of pricing in condo world. Your walkability or proximity to important neighbourhood features is important. Ultimately location drives demand. Hot locations will always have a higher price-per-square-foot when compared to peripheral locations that may not be in such high demand.
Condo Pricing and Guaranteed Views are very closely related. It's the reason that the same condo unit 5 floors above you is more expensive. If you can prove that your views are guaranteed (which is very tricky to do with changing city plans and governments) you can certainly begin to create different stratospheres of pricing. Of course, what those views are also matter to different buyer groups. In North Vancouver, specifically Lower Lonsdale and Central Lonsdale there is a preference to be looking at the water and downtown, with a little glimpse of Lions Gate Bridge (South-west facing). Typically these suites get the highest price-per-square-foot. Mountain views are great, if they are high up, but do cater to a completely different buyer pool looking for a bit less direct sunlight, but the changing mountains each year.
Lastly, certain buildings just do better than others. The building reputation and construction certainly impacts pricing. How a building is managed is carefully weighed by purchasers. The overall appearance and amenities of certain buildings generally create higher values in that building that reflect a healthy operating strata (and generally well financed) which provides comfort to sellers that their investment will be relatively secured.
Of course, there are a number of other factors that influence pricing in any given market. If you're curious about pricing, you know how to get a hold of me. I love answering questions on condo's... and I've built a great deal of knowledge of the buildings on the North Shore. I'm always available to answers questions:
Brandon Crichton
Personal Real Estate Corporation
VPG REALTY INC.
778.847.2453
brandon@vpgrealty.ca