I went to a UDI event last week where Michael Ferreira, Managing Principal of Urban Analytics spoke, said that in general, sales were fairly slow in North Vancouver.

From a long term point of view, it's tough to imagine you could overbuild North Vancouver. It’s close to the city plus such an amazing community with so many things to do.

Brent - You know that is kind of my thought too - The new developments are certainly changing the look and feel of upper Lonsdale for the better, and if you don't need your car - downtown Van is a simple Seabus ride away in under 20 mins,,,, I was curious what others thought - it looks like alot of inventory coming on strream in next two years - but they aren't making those views anymore!

Couldn't agree more, Port Moody and North Vancouver are very similar in my opinion, and highly underrated. Water, mountains, parks, hiking; great communities. I personally chose Port Moody for the lower real estate prices, but eventually I'll be moving to North Van.

Hi Scotty ... I live and work in North Vancouver - Central Lonsdale and love it. I've been living here for almost 6 years and wouldn't move anywhere else in the Lower Mainland. There are several factors that make the 'North Shore' attractive and they include:
1. Accessibility to downtown Vancouver via bridge/seabus
2. Affordability compared to Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, West Vancouver
3. Great neighbourhoods in development (Central Planning Study is promoting growth in 3 main areas: Lower/Central Lonsdale, Marine Drive corridor and Lynn Valley)
4. Proximity to outdoor recreation and water
5. Views
6. South facing mountainside living
7. Upper Levels Highway to get west-east/east-west (which doesn't exist in the city)
In terms of the inventory, it really isn't that much. If you check out the below projects, you'll see that there are less than 4,000 market units for sale that will be completed by 2014 ... which is less than the population growth of the city.
Remember that the City and District of North Vancouver have always been opposed to densification and has been reluctant to re-zone and add housing in the municipality. It wasn't until about 8 years ago that Lower Lonsdale began redeveloping (when I first moved to Sky Tower on West 2nd, the area was still being built out). Therefore, North Vancouver is really playing 'catch-up' when it comes to multi-family housing and high-rise towers.
With the right mix of housing, affordability and influx of homebuyers from Vancouver coming to the North Shore, there will certainly be a demand for the housing. And remember, most of these projects are considered boutique mid-sized projects, and not your typical 2 or 3 tower developments in Richmond or Burnaby or Vancouver.
Take a look at the current developments under construction, and you'll see that many are under 100 units and the largest are only 200 to 300 units. In addition, many are townhome projects, which are affordable and ideal for families and couples moving into the area.
Central Lonsdale
> 15 West (http://ow.ly/7doKq)
> The Prescott (http://ow.ly/7doYK)
> The Kimpton (http://ow.ly/7dp0w)
> Anderson Walk (http://ow.ly/7dp17)
> Local on Lonsdale (http://ow.ly/7dp1W)
> Onni's Safeway Towers
Lower Lonsdale
> The Pier (http://ow.ly/7dp2M)
> The Versatile Building (http://ow.ly/7dp3s)
Marine Corridor
> District Crossing (http://ow.ly/7dpaL)
> The Drive (http://ow.ly/7dpbm)
> Ivy on Marine (http://ow.ly/7dpcA)
> 700 Marine (http://ow.ly/7dpbK)
> seven35 (http://ow.ly/7dpda)
Other District of North Vancouver Projects
> Maplewood (http://ow.ly/7dpeU)
> Legacy at Nature's Edge (http://ow.ly/7dpfU)
> Destiny at Raven Woods (http://ow.ly/7dpfk)
> Cedar Springs Retirement Condos (http://ow.ly/7dpgM)
If you go to the CNV website, you can also check out all the development proposals and future projects ... with the exception of 2 major rental high-rise towers in Central Lonsdale, there really isn't much coming down the pipe in the next few years ...
http://www.cnv.org/tm_cnv/applications.aspx
Sales may be slowed during the summer and this fall, but if you check the actual stats, any 1 or 2 bedroom condo under $500k and any home/lot around $700k to $1.2M are being sold rather quickly. In addition, townhomes around the $600 to $700k range are selling too.
Mike