Empty lot sale gets a marketing lift but sells under asking

2108 10 Ave. N.W., Calgary

Asking price: $1,295,000 (February, 2023)

Previous asking price: $1,350,000 (January, 2023)

Selling price: $1,185,000 (March, 2023)

Previous selling prices: $1.05-million (June, 2018); $92,000 (September, 1983)

Taxes: $7,793 (2022)

Days on the market: 21

Property days on market: 60

Listing agent: Kamil Lalji, CIR Realty

The action

A detached house with a front garage previously occupied this site on the north side of a cul-de sac.CIR Realty

A couple cleared this 60- by 130-foot lot to build their dream home northwest of downtown Calgary, but then they changed their mind, preferring another property nearby. They put this empty lot up for sale, complete with development permits for two different design options. Priced at $1.35-million, there was little interest, so in February the price was cut to $1.295-million and an “open house” event was arranged with a scissor lift to hoist potential buyers 40 feet in the air to get a better view. Twenty people took the ride, the first of whom submitted an offer at $1,185,000, which was accepted by the sellers.

“I rented a scissor lift, so we could go up to where the third storey of the house would be and check out the view,” said agent Kamil Lalji. “It’s a pretty spectacular lot with a panoramic city view and two doors from a huge, expansive green space.”

“I think the scissor lift is what essentially sold it in the end because [the buyer] got to experience what it would be like on a third-floor, rooftop patio.”

What they got

A detached house with a front garage previously occupied this site on the north side of a cul-de sac.

Schools, Bow River trails and the North Hill shopping centre are all within a two-kilometre radius.

The agent’s take

An offer at $1,185,000 was accepted by the sellers.CIR Realty

“This is considered quite an affluent area,” Mr. Lalji said.

“There are a bunch of ridges and green spaces in the area, and this is up a hill, so you look over everyone else.

“And there’s also one of the top rated public elementary schools in that area – the Briar Hill elementary school – so people love that, and you’re also close to the university, SAIT [Southern Alberta Institute of Technology], new cancer centre and Foothills hospital.”