Best Mobile Home Park View?

Well friends if you need a mobile home Portland is your town! Yes I will head a mile south of the border to Hayden Island where we find the Hayden Island Manufactured Home Community. It is here where you will find a mobile home park with a few hundred mobile homes. Roughly 50 of these homes actually front the Columbia River. These home owners have had the prime viewing spot for the rise of Vancouver's new waterfront. The riverfront mobile homes have a small walking trail that lies between them and the embankment that drops down to the river.

Downtown Vancouver and Waterfront, taken from pathway
along river at Hayden Island Manufactured Home Community

The views from these manufactured homes, mostly double wide units and small lots, are as good as some homes I have seen in the multi-million dollar price range. These homes are much less expensive than that.
This is the view you'd get from one of the many decks strategically placed fronting the water in this pretty nice mobile home park.

One has to wonder how this park has resisted the temptation to redevelop this prime piece of Hayden Island riverfront. Yet it remains and oddly so does the empty lot just tot he east that was the former home of the Thunderbird Hotel.

It is kind of nice that folks on a more modest budget can find a place with a King's view yet it is an odd state of affairs to have that kind of real estate value under developed.

Sold unit $117k July, 2018

The unit shown to the left was sold over the summer at the tidy little price of only $117,000. That is cheap, but the space rent on these waterfront parcels is a bit higher than one might expect in a mobile home park community coming in at $922/month and likely rises every year. That is coupled with property taxes of $1850 a year. This view manny would cost roughly $1700 a month if financed. That is about what a garden variety no frills two bedroom apartment costs. Not bad really. Apartments in this area on either side of the river sporting a view like this would easily command double that monthly ticket.

So this quirky place on the island offers something genuinely unique in the area and for that it earns a spot on my golden view properties list. Very cool and remember, whatever your do, be sure to enjoy the view.

Vancouver Waterfront will have Amazing Views

Rendering from Gramor Development Website

I have written a enough about Vancouver's new waterfront project to create a rather thick tome were I to put it all to print. But there's always room for more opining, right? This project has now moved from planning to construction and things are beginning to take shape. This is a 1.5 billion dollar plus project that will take many years to build out. The first buildings in this project however, will open in the spring of 2018. That is just next year!

This waterfront will offer condos and apartments that face the river, face Mount Hood, face the west hills, and face Downtown Vancouver. Pick your view! The opportunity for the very best in urban living is becoming available in roughly a year. Of course the whole neighborhood will take at least 5 years to mature into a finished product. Early buyers will benefit from relatively lower pricing than is likely when the project is nearing build out and demand is peaking.

Gramor Development has already had over 900 inquiries on condos for the waterfront according to reports in  The Columbian, newspaper. You want the premium view in the whole metro area? Well, this could be it. It is finally happening my friends. This project began back before the market crash and was ultimately delaying largely due to market conditions. The City of Vancouver, led by Mayor Leavitt, has a sizable stake in the success of this project. Honestly we all do. Even for the multitudes of 'Couvites' living in the east side suburbia, this will be a great marquis piece of the city. Large swaths of this project are slated for public space including a grand cable suspended public pier poking out into the Mighty Columbia River.

I am very excited about the next few years and how this project will create a fabulous space for living, working and enjoying the view.

Columbia Shores: Views on a Budget

Vancouver's Columbia Shores neighborhood offers affordable condos and some offer decent river views. Many of you may already be familiar with this compact neighborhood. Two popular riverfront restaurants are nearby, Beaches and McMenamins on the Columbia. Even if you can't swing the extra coin for a view unit, the fabulous Vancouver Waterfront Renaissance Trail runs through the area and offers a great view walk along one of America's mightiest rivers.


This is a small and compact area with mostly condos. But prices on decent sized units around 1000-1200 SF are less than $300k. You'll have to pony up some extra cash to get one of the units facing the trail and the river but even some of the back units on upper floor offer views of the river and the city lights. Some may feel that $300,000 for a 1000 sf condo are pricey, but just up the river a little ways one can find the Tidewater Cove condo development and you'll be hard pressed to find any unit in there under $750k. Value is a highly relative term.

Columbia Shores is a great spot for a riverfront condo and the prices are within reach of regular Americans. This neighborhood not only offers the views and connection to the Columbia River, but also is conveniently located. Nestled along the River just south of SR14 and access to that highway is quick. Just one exit west is the I5 interchange, the Interstate Bridge, Downtown Vancouver and the Fort Vancouver National Park Site.

The plan as of now is to extend the Waterfront Renaissance Trail into the new Downtown Waterfront project now under construction. With Vancouver USA trending towards a more urban lifestyle from Columbia Shores all the way into the new waterfront, these units are likely a strong investment opportunity as well as a great spot to relax and look at the pretty scenery.

Across the main channel of the mighty Columbia River on Hayden Island, Portland is also building more condos and apartments that take in sweeping views. Waterfront real estate very limited and that ultimately will spell inflated prices in the future.

Columbia Shores represents one of Vancouver USA's best waterfront values. These will likely see a robust spike in demand as the new waterfront project becomes a centerpiece attraction for new residents and jobs in the 'Original' Vancouver.

As always, please Enjoy the View.

Columbia River Dreams

Today I have decided to feature a listing that I found on the MLS (MLS#14359518) offered for sale by a local RE/MAX agent. This fabulous home sits right on the shores of the mightiest river in the West. The home appears to have been custom designed to capture beautiful views from nearly every room.

This is my kind of view property. No matter where you are or what you are doing in this property you are doing it with a great view! This blog is not a real estate sales blog, and this is not my listing, but if you are interested, you certainly can send me a message and I can arrange for a tour.

I like these kinds of homes. The kind of design where the architect and builder took advantage of the environment and surroundings to create dramatic views and offer a pleasurable living experience. For some, a mountain view or home nestled in the woods is more their speed. But if a river front view is what you like, this one is hard to beat.

This listing is in Vancouver, USA and is one of hundreds of fabulous homes on the Columbia River. The Evergreen Hwy runs along the shores of the Columbia River from the base of the heights all the way out to Camas. Along that ten mile stretch are a variety of homes ranging in price from the low $400's all the way up to $4 million or more. Homes right on the water of course will fetch the big bucks. Many homes along Evergreen Hwy are perched up a little higher and have a more territorial view across the river into Portland. I have always been a sucker for the bird's eye view, but believe me, this kind of sweeping, majestic waterfront property is enough to make you giddy.

This one is available for sale at just $1.4 million. Some of you may be thinking, "Just $1.4 million"?. Yes, "just" $1.4 million. Many homes with this kind of location on the water and frankly just down the street are valued in the $3 million range. This property sits on four tenths of an acre and offers up 4447 square feet of living space. This home is a little smaller than the others on the street. So the buyer of a property like this gets the great view, the waterfront location and is buying into a 3 million dollar neighborhood for half price. Works for me. Now I just need to scrounge up a down payment ;)

Waterfront Living with a View

America's Vancouver can really deliver the goods across most price ranges when it comes to waterfront living. If you have ever partaken of a meal at Beaches Restaurant or the McMenemins on the Columbia you have been to the Columbia Shores Neighborhood.

This tidy little community offers a wide variety of condos in a village like setting right on the shores of the mightiest river in the West. These condos range in price from the upper 170s to nearly a half million dollars with the expensive ones featuring a view from up high. All of them offer access to the gorgeous river walk that runs all the way downtown.

Along with Beaches and McMenemins there is a nice little shopping area with great shops and services.There are few nicer hotels and very close access to Vancouver's downtown core. Speaking of access there is a nice interchange at SR14 to offer speedy delivery to either I5 or I205 just a few blocks away.

For those looking for something a little more plush and secure; a little further upriver will bring you to Tidewater Cove. This is a project that offers a more luxurious condominium for the discriminating buyer with deeper pockets. Here you will find prices well over $500,000 with larger units fetching upwards of $2 million. Here you are protected behind a stately gate and offered up rich amenities. There is also that unparalleled 180 degree sweeping view up and down the Columbia River from Mount Hood and the Gorge to the Interstate Bridge downtown.

The original Vancouver offers some great view opportunities, no matter what kind of view you desire. These fabulous waterfront properties are all actively listed from $185,000 for a 900 foot 2 bed unit to $1.9 million for a spacious 2800 foot unit right on the water. I love me a good view, don't you?

All images displayed in this article are property of the RMLS. These images are from listed properties on the RMLS for which I am utilizing under my rights as a member in good standing of the RMLS.