One lucky buyer will soon be able to purchase $210K Tofino townhouse

A townhouse in Tofino will soon be available for $210,000. Photo Credit: Tofino Housing Corporation.

A townhouse in Tofino will soon be available for $210,000, a price that is almost unheard of in an area facing a housing crisis.

The one bedroom, 738 square foot unit, is being sold by the District of Tofino and the Tofino Housing Corporation, a private corporation owned by the district that aims provide affordable and attainable housing to Tofino residents and employees.

However, there are buyer and resale price restrictions. To be eligible for the purchase lottery, residents have to have lived in the region for at least two of the last three years, work full time in Tofino and have a maximum household income of no more than $80,000. Buyers cannot own other real estate property.

The allowed resale price of the unit is linked to changes in the Consumer Price Index (about 1.5 per cent per year). This means the buyer could only resell the property at the price they paid for it plus the rate of the inflation.

The townhouse is located at Sea Otter Place, a new development. The Tofino Housing Corporation received the property under a Community Amenity Contribution negotiation when 625 Hellesen Drive (Sea Otter Place) was rezoned from a single family zone to a multi-family one.

A lottery process will be used to select the buyer and the price of the townhouse does include GST. All sale proceeds will go toward funding affordable housing programs in the district.  There are also strata fees, which are currently more than $100.

The registration period for the townhouse runs from July 16, 2018, to Aug. 14. There is an information session on July 17 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the council chambers at 121 3 St.

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