$689,000 GREY

577 Pratt Rd, Elphinstone

2 bd · 1.0 ba · 1,197 sqft · 13,242 sqft lot · built 1953 · 125 DOM · MLS R3127903

Oil-tank era

Redfin ↗

Listing: Redfin search · fetched 2026-09-27T19:15

Description

A beautifully curated, design-led home with a warm, distinguished aesthetic and a richly layered palette of colour-drenched walls and ceilings. This artistic retreat offers a calming minimalist style with 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, and a generous walk-in closet with integrated laundry. The centrally located kitchen features large picture windows overlooking the lush garden. Outside, discover an exceptional edible and medicinal landscape filled with fruit trees, berries, herbs, Scotch moss, creeping thyme, Corsican mint, and flagstone pathways throughout. Flexible zoning allows for a nursery, home-based business, or B & B potential. Ideally located near trails, Bonniebrook Beach, Cedargrove

From listing remarks (RE/MAX City Realty)

Rating 15 /100

Equity	0/40	-153,277 vs limit (-22.1% of ARV)
Cash flow	0/30	-1,111/mo
Suite-arb	4.7/15	zone permits a suite; other conditions short
Motivation	10.5/15	130d on market, 1 cut(s)

Offer case

Price can't fix this. rent test — needs 2,776/mo vs 2,583 estimated. Price cannot fix this; only higher rent (a suite) or a lower ARV would.

EVIDENCE

Coast-wide, homes sell at 97.6% of list — a 2.4% discount is simply normal here.
130 days on market vs a 60-day median.
1 price cut(s) already — the seller has shown they will move.
Asking $576/sqft where comparable homes sold at $548/sqft (+5%) — the ask is above the local clearing price.

Support score 0.8 — evidence weight that this seller would entertain the discount. Not a prediction; a checklist with numbers.

The four tests

Equity — FAIL

(price + $40,000 reno + PTT+legal closing) <= 85% x ARV

all-in = $689,000 + $40,000 + $14,280 = $743,280 ARV = $694,121 → limit = 85% × ARV = $590,003 margin = $-153,277 · at band low ($628,662): $-208,917 — GREEN needs this ≥ 0

Rent — FAIL

est. rent >= 0.40% x ARV

est. rent = $2,583/mo (whole house (2bd) $2,583) floor = 0.4% × ARV $694,121 = $2,776/mo rents table: Elphinstone · as of 2026-08-02

Cash flow — FAIL

rent - carrying >= -800/mo (PM-managed, typical rent, at ask)

payment $2,760 (loan $551,200 @ 4.4%/30y) + tax $259 (mls) + ins $158 + maint $129 + vac $155 + PM $232 carrying = $3,694/mo · rent $2,583 → cash flow = $-1,111/mo (floor $-800)

Suite-arb — FAIL

zone permits suite AND sqft >= 1,900 AND no suite language AND $/sqft < community median

zone RU1 suite:yes · sqft 1,197 (min 1,900) suite language: no · $/sqft 576 vs median 513

Scored 2026-10-02T05:55 · thresholds from criteria.yaml

Cash-flow scenarios $/mo · hover a cell for carrying cost

Price	$2,583 typical self-managed	$2,583 typical PM	$2,870 high self-managed	$2,870 high PM
$689,000	−$878	−$1,111	−$623	−$881
$654,550 −5.0%	−$740	−$973	−$485	−$743
$630,435 −8.5%	−$644	−$876	−$388	−$647

Rents: rents.yaml as of 2026-08-02 · financing from criteria.yaml

Comps & ARV

ARV $694,121 range $628,662 – $858,464 (about half of comparable sales landed inside this band)
median $/sqft of 12 renovated size-matched sales (12 priced from list × measured sale ratio — ~3y registration lag), blended 70%/30% with assessed × 1.03 (sale/assessed, renovated) · confidence medium ($/sqft used: 589)

Cross-check: comps say $705,033, BC Assessment × sale ratio says $668,660 (+5% apart)

Sold	Dist	Sqft	Price	$/sqft	Date	Reno
776 Geddes Rd	5.06 km	1,460	~$877,784	601	2026-02-19	✓
4657 Whitaker Rd	14.79 km	1,104	~$781,022	707	2025-10-08	✓
5750 Spindrift St	18.47 km	1,176	~$556,548	473	2026-05-10	✓
5808 Anchor Rd	18.94 km	1,056	~$780,144	739	2026-02-20	✓
5641 Nickerson Rd	20.54 km	1,487	~$805,530	542	2026-03-06	✓
6307 Homestead Ave	20.59 km	1,403	~$776,238	553	2026-01-24	✓
6270 Homestead Ave	20.6 km	1,284	~$756,710	589	2026-01-21	✓
5636 Cascade Cres	20.67 km	1,284	~$721,364	562	2026-07-18	✓
~ = final list price × measured sale ratio (BC title registration lags ~3 years, so recent solds have no registered price; the proxy is within ~2% of the registered price when both exist)

Solds from Redfin sold-search + public-records sale prices (belowTheFold)

Price & sale history

Seller basis: $639,000, 2021-02-26 — asking +7.8%

2026-09-01	price_cut	749000 → 689000 -8.0%
2026-08-03	new	749000 first seen at $749,000
2026-09-01	Price Changed	$689,000 GVR
2026-05-25	Listed	$749,000 GVR
2021-02-26	Sold (Public Records)	$639,000 Public Records
2020-12-08	Listed	$639,000 GVR
2009-03-30	Sold (Public Records)	$223,000 Public Records
2009-01-08	Listed	$249,900 GVR
1990-09-27	Sold (Public Records)	$89,000 Public Records

History: Redfin belowTheFold · fetched 2026-09-27T19:46 · events observed by Coastwatch

Zoning & land

RU1 — Rural One suite OK

Areas B/D/E/F: suite permitted (single-unit dwelling zone), and a second single-unit dwelling or auxiliary dwelling unit at 3500 m2 in Areas B/D/E or 0.8 ha in Area F — the lot-area trigger is the whole game for the SECOND dwelling, not for the suite. Area A: no suite right; over 3500 m2 gets a duplex second unit OR one auxiliary dwelling unit, over 8000 m2 a second single-unit dwelling. Sechelt RU-1: secondary suite is a listed accessory use, detached accessory dwelling unit at 2000 m2, two dwellings at 1 ha. [Bylaw 722.9 s.7.9.2, s.7.9.4, s.5.24; Bylaw 337 s.1011.1; Bylaw 580 s.1.9.2-1.9.4]

PID	006-114-903
Parcel	577 PRATT RD (SCRD)
Wastewater	none mapped — septic likely (no suite carve-out)
Water	Chapman system
Fire protection	Gibsons/West Howe Sound FPA
Bylaw	https://www.scrd.ca/zoning-bylaws/

SCRD Planning_ZoningLanduse · fetched 2026-08-03T05:46 · meanings from zoning_rules.yaml (verify before relying)

Assessment

Assessed total	$670,000
Land / improvements	$523,000 / $147,000 (78% land — the higher, the more the value is in the dirt)
Assessed / ask	0.97
BCA folio	746.00074.005

BC Assessment via SCRD parcel layer · fetched 2026-08-03T06:45

Open questions

Built 1953 — oil-tank era. Ask for a tank scan or decommissioning certificate.
125 days on market — ask the listing agent why it hasn't moved.