A view is a highly subjective thing, sure there are some views that are objectively beautiful, the ocean, mountains, waterfront, etc. Many of us cannot afford that spectacular objectively gorgeous view, but there could be some opportunities for something more affordable.
Locally here in Vancouver, WA I have discussed neighborhoods with peek-a-boo view ops and the notion of looking out over trees or other pleasant views. One way to increase the potential for such views is to consider a house in an established neighborhood with mature trees situated at the end of a culdesac. This opens up the area in front of the house and often exposes nice mature trees. Sure you have a large paved culdesac in front of you, but just beyond the pavement you can see the surrounding area because you don't have a neighbors house right in front of of you blocking the view.
If you happen to find one on a slight upslope where the end of the culdesac is a little higher than the bottom the effect is dramatically increased. Now you get a slightly elevated view that takes in a little more of the territorial view that just opens things up a bit. This is by no means an objectively great view, but it is usually better than looking at your neighbors house.
Sometimes a corner house can offer this open view but the end of a culdesac is hard to beat. There are other advantages to culdesacs as well that you may appreciate. No through traffic, small easy to manage front yards with oversized backyards, these and other advantages may suit you as well.
This type of "view" can't really be marketed as a view, so it is often a non-factor in the price of the property. If it comes down to deciding between tow similar homes at similar prices and one has a soft "view" and the other is just looking at your neighbors houses, then take to one with the better view, right?
The Columbia Palisades development is finally starting to build out after a slow start. The biggest project thus far is the Ledges which is topped out and nearing exterior completion. This project features two tower atop a three story podium. One tower is 7 floors the other is 6 floors. The project reportedly will house both condos and apartments. The buildings sit atop a steep bluff overlooking the Columbia River. This project will have many units with spectacular views.
The development also has a single family home neighborhood atop the rim of the former mining pit. There are still several a few lots available, some of which have truly remarkable views.
This neighborhood and the one developing across 192nd called HQ, will combine to create a small city within a city. It will form a gateway to East Vancouver and Camas.
Vancouver has designated the area around the former Tower Mall complex as The Heights District and intends to curate a 15 minute city centered on that location. This will not be a super dense urban area like the Waterfront, but will have a smattering of short mid-rise buildings with 4-6 floors of apartments and ground floor retail. The vision is actually pretty good and if the city can execute the plan as shown the local area will enjoy a bit of an economic boost and become much more walkable even for the nearby suburban neighborhoods of South Cliff, Dubois Park, Broadmoor, and Northcrest.
I suspect that any apartments on the fifth or sixth floors of these buildings will likely enjoy some nice views of Mount Saint Helens, Mount Hood, Mount Adams, and possibly Downtown Vancouver and Portland.
Many locals are unhappy with this new district but I feel like it is a knee jerk reaction to change. The old Tower Mall by all accounts was an ugly eyesore and the area surrounding it was in dis-repair. Why would anyone not want to see that area cleaned up and made more functional and fun for everyone in the area? Yes it will have some higher density but it will provide a central point where everyone in the area can congregate, shop, dine, have a brew and hang out.
I am looking forward to watching this new district come to life over the next 5-10 years.
Viewpoint units in Downtown Vancouver don't come around often. But a local Realtor® managed to get the cream of the crop unit to market last week. #1125 is actually two units that were merged into one to create a full width home featuring glass on three sides! With the patios you have a nearly 360º view offering up the most spectacular perch in Vancouver. Due to Viewpoint being at 700 Washington Street which is about 20 feet higher in elevation than Smith Tower, these 11th floor units are in fact the highest residential units Downtown offers a slightly taller perch than the 15th floor at Smith offers in their top floor apartments.
You get a grand vista sweeping from the northeast across the southern sky to the northwest with almost all glass. This home has been completely updated with the latest in modern design and style and features a distinctive urban feel. There are gorgeous patios on each side so wake up to a glorious sunrise on the east patio and then hang out and watch El Sol slide into dusk on the west patio.
This unit is offered at a list price of $2.25 million and I think it is the best deal in town. Sure you can spend another $1.1 million and get a similar sized brand new unit at Kirkland Tower, but this one has a better view. You will get the Cascade Quintet of giant volcanoes, on those really clear days it is possible not only to see the two local hot heads, Mount Hood and Mount St. Helens, but also Mount Adams, Mount Jefferson, and Mount Rainier. The Columbia River passes along the entire view with all of Vancouver's new Waterfront development offering an urban landscape with lovely city lights by night.
The home features 2 beds and 2 baths with a nice den. The floor space is a nice and spacious 2964 SF. Again the entire space from east to west on all three sides is towering glass nearly to the top of the 11-12 foot ceilings. This is one of my personal favorite Downtown condos.
Take a look at the photos below and also I have a link to a video presentation of the property. I unfortunately toured this unit on a rainy day, but I assure you I have been in the Viewpoint units before on clear days and it is amazing to see the Cascades, the Gorge, and the city at night.
If you are thinking about a modern high rise condo contact me and I will show you around this amazing property.
I have written about the Parkview Condominium tower on this blog before, but it has been awhile. I recently listed a park facing unit in the building and thought I would revisit the development. One of the nice things about condos is that there are smaller units in buildings like Parkview that are much more affordable than a single family home and often have nice views.
Parkview is an urban condominium project in Downtown Vancouver. It is located on the east flank of Esther Short Park in Downtown Vancouver. Despite the rise of Vancouver's spectacular Waterfront district a few blocks away, Esther Short Park remains the beating heart of Downtown.
Established in 1853, it is the oldest public park in the Pacific Northwest and one of the oldest in the entire Western USA. It covers four city blocks in a nice square shape with some "old growth" Fir and Cedar trees that rise more than 100 feet above the streets. The rest of the park is filled with lovely Maple trees that provide gorgeous fall color in the autumn. The park is host to festivals, concerts, and events throughout the year. There is a fantastic Farmer's Market on Esther Street along the west flank of the park and a full block of 8th Street that now runs year round.
The unit I listed is on the 4th floor and offers lovely views of the park. The balcony patio is 90% covered and large enough to host a small patio set to enjoy the views outside. It is a one bedroom unit with about 550 square feet of living space that truly feels bigger than it is. Parkview is a type one concrete building which makes it very quiet inside compared to a wood frame building. It is truly one of the absolute best locations in Downtown Vancouver flanking the heart of the city and walking distance to just about every essential service from the Post Office and local government services to the grocery store, and literally hundreds of restaurants, pubs, shops, and entertainment. You live car free in this building with ease, but should you desire to own one, parking is available in the secure garage underneath the building.
This unit is currently listed by me, Rod Sager, Weichert Realtors® Equity NW for $280,000. MLS #102456262. There are a few others listed in this building facing the Park as well as facing the east which offers a more quiet experience on the patio.
Here is a link to the currently listed properties at Parkview and neighboring Viewpoint.
Vancouver is way behind on annexing large swaths of urban density unincorporated neighborhoods. It seems the council is seriously considering a one time "go big or go home" approach that would swallow the entire urban growth boundary.
I am actually in favor. The State of Washington in 1990 passed legislation aimed at doing just what Vancouver may do now. Many years ago Mayor Pollard attempted to complete the Orchards annexation and ended up in a duel to the death with the County. The whole thing stalled out. Since then Vancouver has been taking little bites out of the large UGB slowly and well behind schedule.
The council is looking at four options the last of which is aunt just nibbling away like they have for the last 20 years. The other three are big chunk acquisitions, one adding 75,000 residents to the city, another adding 95,000 residents to the city, the third and my personal favorite the full enchilada, the entire UGB adding 171,000 resident to the city.
Keep in ming the City isn't growing new residents, they are in fact already here simply outside the city boundary. It is essentially a jurisdiction change. Cities are much better suited to managing urban areas and counties are really supposed to run the rural areas. The Vancouver UGB is no longer rural, it is mostly suburban housing areas with a few commercial sections.
If they select option three, and they should do just that, the city would officially have 380,000 people placing it ahead of well known "big cities" like, Pittsburgh PA, Cincinnati OH, New Orleans LA, Cleveland OH, and several others.
This annexation option would put Vancouver on the radar on par with big cities including our neighbor Portland as far as companies looking to expand or relocate. It would be a boon to the local job market.
Vancouver has done an effective job increasing housing density and that will help younger people get into the homeownership market.
We are now more than a week into Daylight Savings time. I held two open houses for a listed condo at Parkview recently. The first was on Saturday March 8th the day before the time switched. It was a beautiful day with the Farmer's Market open and lots of foot traffic through the Vancouvercenter Plaza. I was out there 'barking' like I was in the red light district in the 1970s. "check out my open house...right here. overlooks the park..." I managed to get a few groups of people to look at the unit and handed out a gazillion flyers, but despite my online advertising I didn't get a single person that came specifically to see the unit. You could say the success of the open was 'all me' :) The following week I decided to do Sunday instead of Saturday. In the winter months the Farmer's Market is only open on Saturday so there was less traffic. The weather was also damp and chilly with a temp around 45º. I was thinking this is gonna be a disaster. I loaded the FEMA hotline into speed dial, just in case ;) I did the same advertising as the previous week and I got twice as many people though the open house and all but one group came specifically to see the unit via my ads. No barker required.
OK this is literally the definition of an anecdote and it could have just been a random action of the universe. But I notice every year right after Daylight Savings time arrives, there is an uptick in real estate activity. Even when the weather is more like January than springtime, they come. I think Daylight Savings time is a 'trigger' whether conscious or unconscious, people start engaging the world a little differently. Daylight Savings time is Real Estate time or so it seems to me.
This morning as I was prepping to write this article and updating the Urban Living website with data from the local MLS, I noticed a significant uptick in new listings and new pending sales. Hmm, my anecdotal experience has legs me thinks.
Esther Short Park and the Vancouver Waterfront definitely have massive increases in visitors, activities, and a general "buzz" as we move from the dark and dreary winter into the 'funshine' of spring and summer. Now is a great time for people considering a move into the urban core of the metro area's hottest urban living neighborhoods. Yeah that's us right here in America's Vancouver.
I have written about houseboats over the years as they are often an affordable way to own a home right on the water, literally ON the water. I had the pleasure of showing a houseboat to a client recently at the Felida Moorage. Most of the houseboats in the Portland - Vancouver metro area are located at North Portland Harbor between Hayden Island and the Portland mainland. But Clark County has three houseboat communities as well. This was a very nice home that is only about 20 years old. Houseboats give a unique water view that some find very soothing. I have written about this concept of water views as well as about houseboats in general check these out:
This houseboat was modern with roughly 1700 SF on two levels. 3 bedrooms and a nature lover's paradise as it sits along the Lake River and is next to both the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge and the Shillapoo Natural Area. The amount of wildlife particular birds is amazing. There are nesting Bald Eagles in the area, hawks, geese, ducks, cranes, herons and scores of other birds of all sizes.
The Lake River provides access to both Vancouver Lake just a half mile upstream, and the Columbia River about 9-10 miles downstream. The Lake river is unusual in that it can actually with flow directions depending on inflows from creeks and the flow and height of the Columbia River.
The Lake River is fairly narrow and is really more like a slough with its calm slow moving water. Tidal influences on the river are minor but noticeable with tides ranging from 1 foot above sea level to a couple of feet above sea level. The river's height is more about inflows from streams than the tides. Unlike houseboats closer to the ocean the tides are not a huge factor.
This particular houseboat is currently listed at $350,000 with a $500 monthly moorage fee that includes water, garbage, and sewer.
Boulder Ridge is a development of townhomes atop the bluff at the Columbia Palisades master planned community in East Vancouver immediately adjacent to the City of Camas. Some of these luxury townhomes offer spectacular views of the Columbia River and Mount Hood or Portland City Lights depending on the unit. The view is protected by virtue of the sheer cliff they are perched on, some 100 feet above Brady Road.
Not all the units in this development feature views but the eight or so that are right on the cliff definitely do. These clifftop units are priced in the $1.3 million range, but offer an attached two car garage and more than 2500 SF of living space. These are true townhomes as you own the dirt underneath. They are brand new construction that offers a luxury alternative to local premium condo living.
Contact your preferred real estate professional for a private showing of these amazing townhomes. Some additional pics are below.
The ZoomInfo office complex consists of two high rise towers, well one high rise and one mid rise, semantics ;) Between the two towers is a very lovely stepped garden with a patio on the sixth floor. To access this garden you can park in the new garage and take an elevator to the fifth floor and one flight of stairs or you can traverse all six flights of stairs through this stepped garden and enjoy the view all the way up. The two towers rise several floors above you to the west and east, a skybridge connects them on the eighth floor. But the view to the south and to the north are unobstructed.
Vancouver has done a good job working with developers to incentivize building public space. This was well done and serves as a potential connecting point for a future public skybridge over the rail berm and into the new Gateway District.
Few of us own view homes, so sometimes public spaces offering generous views are an outlet for contemplative thought, enjoyment, or socializing. This is an urban view so it's not in everyone's taste range, but I like urban views so I like this spot created at Terminal One. Kudos to the Port of Vancouver.
Here is a panorama to the north I made with my iPhone. Happy Holidays!
The Columbia River provides a wide variety of views from sunrise and sunset to the various shades of day and night from season to season. Today I am featuring two homes in Vancouver that feature nice river views.
The first is a brand new home at Columbia Palisades. Although the zip code for this development is 98607 the property is actually located within the Vancouver City limit. It does however reside in the Camas school district. Columbia Palisades is in an unusual jurisdictional situation. Water service comes from Camas. Sewer, Fire, Police, zoning, and permitting all from the City of Vancouver. These attached townhouses are perched along the bluff with a spectacular view from high above SR-14. This elevated site allows for unobstructed views of the river and the city lights of Troutdale, Gresham, and Portland on the Oregon side of the river.
This particular unit is listed for $1,299,900 by Knipe Realty and is new construction. It features 3 beds and 2.5 baths spread over 2502 square feet of living space. This is a very modern city style home and will soon enjoy access to a new urban city style community at the bottom of the hill.
The second home is along the Evergreen Hwy in one of Vancouver's well established river view neighborhoods. This one is listed at $2,000,000 by Berkshire Hathaway and features 4 beds and 3.5 baths spread over 4340 square feet of living space. The home was built in 1990 but has extensive remodeling to give it all the amenities of a 21st century home.
The home has a bit of Mediterranean flair with lovely open air verandas overlooking the Columbia River and beyond to Portland with a wonderful display of city lights at night.
Both of these fine properties offer wonderful views as well as desirable living elements in excellent locations. This is just a couple of listings from more than 200 I reviewed for this article. There are view homes in nearly every price range from entry level to the billionaire class.
Most people familiar with Kirkland Tower probably associate it with its waterfront location and amazing views of the mighty Columbia River. But Kirkland Tower does have many exceptional homes that do not face the river. The building was well designed to create Columbia River view corridors even for units facing away from the river. Unit 1000 is situated on the 10th floor on the north side of the building and has a sweeping cityscape view looking north towards Esther Short Park and Downtown. But the west side of the unit is angled to create a view of the Waterfront Park and the Columbia River as it flows towards the Pacific. It is a clever design and adds value to the less expensive north facing units.
This unit offers 3+ bedrooms and 3.5 baths with 3056 square feet of living space. It resides on the 10th floor which in this building is the defect 11th floor. It is high enough to look right over the top of the 8 story apartment building across the street. This gives a fantastic view of the ever changing Vancouver skyline. From the balcony style patio a wonderful panoramic cityscape view awaits with both day and nighttime enjoyment.
View from patio unit 1000
This unit is currently listed at $3.3 million which is nearly a million dollars less than the comparable unit on the south side of the building that faces the river. Kirkland Tower is one of only two true lifestyle condominium developments in the metro area, the other is The Ritz Carlton in Portland. It is not a hard argument to make that Kirkland features the superior neighborhood and pricing at Kirkland is a bit favorable as well.
For those of you unfamiliar with Kirkland Tower, it is located right on Vancouver's new Waterfront facing the river and the Waterfront Park. It is the fourth tallest building in Downtown Vancouver and is connected to the Indigo Hotel. Lifestyle developments offer much more than just property amenities, Kirkland has full concierge services, room service with the quality of El Gaucho, and yes the building amenities are pretty nice too. Kirkland Tower has an owner's community penthouse with a complete kitchen indoor and outdoor spaces that capitalize on the spectacular views from atop the 13 story tower. It also features Vancouver's highest workout space and rooftop community garden space.
I was perusing the properties with views and came across this classic home along Evergreen Hwy. This one sits on a lovely acre with excellent views of the Columbia River and twinkling city lights at night. The Evergreen Hwy is a vintage roadway and offers homes with gorgeous mature trees and an established neighborhood with a solid reputation as one of the most desired in the region.
The home was built in 1987 and features 5 beds, 3.5 baths spread over 3853 square feet. A massive deck looking over river makes this is a summer entertainers dream. It is listed at 2.2 million and that is a fair price considering you have slightly more than an acre of ground in the city with excellent views. Listed by Windermere MLS#24388646
I also found this gem up north in Ridgefield for those with deeper pockets. This stately home features lovely views of the high cascades including Mount Saint Helens. It is situated on just shy of 15 acres with well manicured landscaping and an opulent design. With 4 bedrooms, 5 and a half baths, spread over 7825 this home is impressive.
The "manicured" portion of the 15 acres is a manageable area of an acre or two, the rest of the 15 acres could be utilized for just about anything from horses to agriculture.
It is listed at a very reasonable $4.75 million. Listed by Compass, MLS#24512880.
So that is a couple of nice homes I picked out of about 240 listing with "views" in Clark County. There are view homes that start in the 400's and some condos in the city center can offer views at prices less than that.
Fed chair Powell has been hinting at rate cuts to stave off a stagnating economy. This could lead to buyers qualifying for a little more house or a little better view. With 30 year mortgages sitting around the mid-sixes depending of course on the strength of the borrower, a reduction that dips them below six percent could be an excellent boost to the real estate market.
People sitting on a smaller starter home with a loan note at 5% will be more likely to make the move up to a view home at say 5.9% It will remain challenging to get the 2.9% crowd to move, but their are more 5% notes than 3% loans at the moment.
Younger borrowers may feel like rates are very high right now since we just came off an extended period of more than a decade of below average mortgage rates. The 70 year average for mortgage rates runs in the mid sixes and that is where we are now.
If rates stay between 5.75% and 6.75% over the next year or two, the market will pickup some steam without any other inducement.
Homes with views in Clark County carry a very broad price range from sub-median all the way up to the billionaire club. Over the years this blog has highlighted some amazing value priced homes with decent views. As more arrive to market we will be on the scene with articles.
Meanwhile, keep a sharp eye out for rate drops, they are likely at this point.
This story was excerpted with permission from Urban Living in the Couv. Originally posted 7/15/2024.
The title question is of course highly subjective and I have touched on this issue in the past. I have done additional research to complement my own experiences in various mid-rise and high-rise buildings.
Here in Vancouver our tallest residential towers are in modest high-rise buildings. Typically high-rise buildings have ten or more floors and can rise to heights approaching 300 feet. Generally once a tower exceeds 300 feet it is called a skyscraper although there are other metrics as well. Even our bigger sister to the south only has a handful of residential buildings in the 300+ foot height range. Here in Vancouver the tallest residential buildings fall into the lower half of the high-rise range with 10-15 floors, but most of our urban residential developments are mid-rise structures with 5-8 floors.
If we divide buildings into ground floor, lower floors 2-4, mid floors 5-9, and upper floors 10+ we can gauge the pros and cons of these various levels in a buildings. This is highly subjective but I am using some research data as well.
Ground Floor:
These units have the advantage of being accessible without the use of stairs or the elevator. They are ideal for residents with pets that need to go outside frequently. The ground floor offers a bit more safety in an emergency as these residents will be the first out. They tend to have a slight disadvantage in security since there is either direct street access or at least windows at street level. Some ground units offer special zoning to operate a commercial business; in Vancouver, Parkview ground units that front Columbia Street have such zoning. Ground floor units will also have the most street noise. Furthermore in congested traffic situations auto exhaust may affect residents when windows are open. Ground floor units also tend to lack the views found in upper floors.
Low-rise Floors 2-4:
Looking southwest towards Smith Tower and the Waterfront, 4th floor Murdock Executive Plaza
Once off the ground floor security improves by eliminating street access to the residence. As you move up in height off the street noise levels start to diminish a bit but the type of noise will change as you ascend. Floors 2-4 tend to be only a touch less noisy than the ground floor. When sitting on a patio or near open windows conversations talking place by passing pedestrians on the street may be intelligible and that can be distracting. I find the 4th floor to be borderline on this but it certainly depends on your hearing and perception. Although the view can improve on these floors, you will find that most of Vancouver's city streets are lined with lovely deciduous trees that will block most of your view. In the winter months when these trees are bare the view improves. These trees however can act as a sound block that keeps distant ambient city noises like airplanes and sirens a bit suppressed. Typically as you rise up in height there tends to be more wind. In most of Downtown Vancouver floors 2-4 are not that windy but in suburban areas where most local structures are 1-2 floors the 3rd and 4th floors can get real breezy. These lower floors offer residents the quickest access in the elevator and the stairs remain a viable option as well depending on your level of fitness.
Mid-rise Floors 5-9:
Looking west from the 6th floor rooftop patio at Aeon Apartments
I believe that these floors are the sweet spot in just about any building. Once you ascend to the 5th floor you have a good shot at being above the trees which opens up the view a bit. It should be noted that the trees around Esther Short Park are quite a bit taller than the 5th floor but most sidewalk trees are not. From the 5th floor up I find that conversations at street level become background noise, muffled and unintelligible which makes them less distracting. Here in Vancouver you will notice that these floors often become breezy although in the more dense areas like the Columbia Street near the Park and parts of the Waterfront not so much. Any river facing units along the waterfront will be breezy regardless of what floor you are on.
Looking west from 8th floor of Hotel Indigo, Vancouver Waterfront.
From these mid levels you will actually get a lot more ambient city noise. Sirens and honking car horns from many blocks away are able to be heard but in a background noise fashion. These same noises right in front of the building will also be a bit less loud as you are a fair distance above them and the trees along the street below provide some suppression. There are a handful of units in Vancouver right along Interstate 5 that the height will not be able to overcome. Some of the east facing units in Frontier Block at 500 Broadway are very loud with highway noise even on the 5th and 6th floors. Generally as you get higher off the street you get more and more background noise that is usually easier for people to "tune out." Because Downtown Vancouver only has a handful of high-rise buildings I find that views from the 6-9th floors to be mostly unobstructed. Of course there are some exceptions like the Waterfront and Columbia Street near the park where building densities are higher.
Looking north from 9th floor rooftop patio at The Miller Apartments
Mid-levels have excellent security unless you have a rogue Spiderman running around ;) These floors are also still in the range of stairway use of course depending on your physical condition. In an emergency getting down 5 to 9 flights is manageable for most people. I also find that around the 7th floor or so you start to get that "up high" feeling with a little detachment from the city below. Some people may get that at different heights perhaps higher or lower. I'm not talking about that "top of the world" feeling, that typically comes at much higher heights, but you are definitely get that in the city feel.
High-rise Floors 10+:
Looking southeast from the 11th floor Viewpoint
High-rise buildings with 10 or more floors will vary largely on the city and location within that city as to the "feeling" you get on these upper floors. In Vancouver the 10th floor is high enough to see over the majority of buildings and we do not have our high rise buildings clumped close enough to create a view blockage. In Portland the "top of the world" feeling will require a trip up to the 30th floor or so. Here in Vancouver you start to feel that a bit at floor 10. Vancouver's downtown only has 8 completed or topped out towers with 10 or more floors and one other that is proposed. So once you are up that high you are in rarefied air for Downtown Vancouver. From these heights you will find that it gets quite windy and you may even experience some building sway. Any sway in smaller high-rises is subtle. Really tall skyscrapers can sway several feet in the wind, sway experienced in Vancouver would most likely be measured in inches not feet. Once above the 10th floor it is highly unlikely you will find any trees tall enough to impede your view. Some of the old growth cedars and firs in Esther Short Park are above 100 feet tall so those are a notable exception. From the 11th floor at Viewpoint in Vancouver Center 3 you are standing nearly 150 feet off the ground and can see over the trees in the park. As it stands now there are only two condo projects that offer units more than 100 feet off the street in Vancouver, these are Viewpoint and Kirkland Tower.
Noise levels on high-rise floors will be almost entirely background city noise. Vancouver does tend to have a fair bit of air traffic overhead that also tends to be noisy and this is one area where the higher up locations will be noisier. Street noise is so muffled as to be more of a background drone with few if any discernible characteristics. You can sit on an outdoor patio on these higher floors and have a conversation at normal voice levels. As I mentioned earlier the higher you are the more likely you will hear noises from far away distances. They won't be loud but they will be heard. From these loftier perches you will also get a distinct detachment from the city below and for some that is preferable to the more immersive experience with the city at the lower floor levels. From a high rise the city becomes more of an interaction like a body of water or a mountain in the distance rather than the tactile experience of immersion in that city. Lower floors offer more immersion and higher floors offer more detachment.
Finally high-rise floors will be the last to be evacuated in an emergency and should one need to use the stairs it will be quite an ordeal for all but the fittest among us. Elevator times tend to get a bit longer as well.
In general higher up costs more, so there is that. Bargains can be found closer to the ground; see what I did there ;) Keep in mind that higher floors tend to be warmer and lower floors tend to be cooler so your HVAC costs will reflect this. Up high cheaper in the winter more expensive in the summer and vice versa for lower floors. Typically another advantage to higher up is the lack of flying insects and other creepy crawlers. Generally once you get up about 6-8 floors the bug count goes way down.
Harney Heights is just west of Downtown and Central Park. It features homes of all sizes including condos nestled atop a bluff. You won't find homes with dizzying heights here as Harney Heights rises only about 100-200 feet above sea level. Occasionally you will find homes that offer a view of Downtown's increasingly dense urban skyline or a lovely view to the north of Mount Saint Helens, Mount Rainier, or Mount Adams. There are a lot of Kaiser cottages up there too that are really affordable. Some Columbia River view homes occasionally come on the market as well.
This neighborhood is very close to Downtown and has good highway access to both SR-14 and I-5. I found a nice 2 bed 2.5 bath condo with 1400 squares and a pretty nice view of both Mount St. Helens and Mount Rainier behind it. It sold recently for under $320k.
Although most of the homes in Harney Heights are up at the top of the bluff most of them are situated on flat lots without views. The view homes are typically along the northern, southern and western slopes that rise up to the top of the bluff.
Although homes that offer an unobstructed view of the Cascade volcanoes or the Columbia River tend to fetch higher prices, most of the homes in Harney Heights are modest in star and that keeps them within reach for many people on a budget.
Lacamas Shores is one of Camas' nicest neighborhoods. The entire development is located on the steep slopes of the north side of Prune hill that drop down to Lacamas Lake. Most of the home sin this neighborhood have excellent views of the water and or mountains including Mt. Hood.
I found this listing on the MLS this morning at the top of the slope. It is a fantastic home with excellent panoramic views. It features 4 beds and 4.5 baths in 3531 SF. The upper deck offers spectacular views with that 'birds eye' feeling.
Lacamas Shores has the advantage of being a bit lower in elevation compared to the 'top of the hill' neighborhoods on Prune Hill. All of the lots are under 400 feet elevation compared to almost 800 feet atop Prune Hill. In the winter Lacamas Shores is often getting rain when the top of Prune Hill is getting snow.
Lacamas Lake offers hiking, boating, even waterskiing right out your front door. This home is listed at $1,675,000. Contact me for more information or to arrange a showing.
Parkview at Vancouvercenter offers some view condos particularly when facing west towards Esther Short Park. These park facing units tend to carry a premium price. The east facing units suffer from a severe case of urbanitis peekaboois. (Uh oh, is Rod losing his mind?) No I am not losing my mind. These units face other buildings in virtually every direction. But the end units can peek between the buildings and sometimes yield a nice picturesque views. This is the case with unit 603 currently listed by Berkshire Hathaway.
Photo created by Urban Living in the Couv
I have been in this unit a couple of times, including recently to show it to a prospective buyer. The unit is on the 6th floor of 7 in the building. This is a type one all concrete and steel structure that is well insulated against noise. The patio is spacious for a mid rise condo and offers some decent mid day sun. Many units in Parkview facing east have little natural light especially on the lower floors. This unit is much better than most.
RMLS Photo
The caveats are basically that the traditional "views" are of the peek-a-boo variety. The rest of the patio has the dubious distinction of looking into a lot of high-rise and mid-rise windows. And even though these units do not face the park, access to the park is identical. You are still literally right on the park.
I doubt anyone will buy this unit because of the view, it ins't a great view. They will buy it because it is in one of the best urban locations in the entire region. Esther Short Park is the centerpiece for Downtown Vancouver and features one of the best Farmer's Market experience in the region as well as a ton of amazing festivals, concerts, and events. The convention center is just across the park along with City Hall and a lot of restaurants, breweries, clubs, and shops. The location is described by walk score.com as a walker's paradise.
RMLS Photo
The unit does have peek-a-boo views from every room. Including a very nice Mount Hood view looking between Vancouvercenter 3 and 4. Again the views are just simple little peeks, but they are better than no view. The unit is priced at $361,900 and features 2 beds and 2 baths with 879 square feet of space. The building features secure underground parking for $125 a month and HOA dues are $815. The HOA may seem a bit high but it does include heating and air conditioning. Owner does not pay for HVAC energy or maintenance.
This article is intended as information on view property in Vancouver. The author is a licensed agent and is available for consultation on this or any other property in Washington State. This property is not listed by the office of the author of this article.
Give Realtor® Rod Sager a call and arrange for a showing.
15650 NE 4th Plain Blvd. Suite 101, Vancouver, WA 98682
