For over 60 years, Turnagain Island was a summer retreat for the same family, a unique legacy waterfront property on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast. The 93-acre private island recently sold for $13 million, marking the region’s highest residential sale through the Multiple Listing Service.
Gina Stockwell, senior vice-president of sales with Sotheby’s International Realty Canada, said the sellers were ready to pass the torch.
The island, located in Halfmoon Bay’s Secret Cove, attracted interest from around the world before ultimately selling to a buyer from Greater Vancouver. Stockwell said the marketing campaign focused on conveying the property’s setting and lifestyle as much as its homes and infrastructure.
The Sunshine Coast is about a 40-minute ferry ride from West Vancouver, giving the region a sense of remoteness that attracts buyers looking for privacy and waterfront property. The Turnagain Island property includes two custom homes, multiple docks, municipal water and hydro, and nearly 100 acres of forest and coastline.
To showcase the property, Stockwell hired a photographer and videographer who camped overnight on the island to capture the coastal lifestyle. They filmed night shots, the sky, from sunset to sunrise, to really capture the essence of the property.
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The marketing effort extended beyond the local market, with the listing promoted through Sotheby’s International Realty’s global network and Stockwell’s own database of clients and agents. There were eyes on the property from all over the world, but the buyer ultimately came from Greater Vancouver.
Stockwell said the roughly three-year sales timeline wasn’t unusual for a property of this scale and uniqueness. Pricing was one of the more difficult aspects of the listing, as there were few meaningful comparables. The buyer saw the value, and it sold for its market value.
They are continuing to see activity at the upper end of the recreational market on the Sunshine Coast, where privacy and lifestyle remain major draws for buyers. Lifestyle and privacy, Stockwell said, are priceless these days.
The sale of Turnagain Island may not be the last record-setting luxury sale in the region, as many of the Sunshine Coast’s most desirable waterfront properties have remained in the same families for generations and rarely come to market. According to the report, these legacy properties are rare to come to market.
As the Sunshine Coast’s market continues to attract buyers looking for unique properties, Stockwell believes Turnagain Island is unlikely to be the last record-setting luxury sale in the region. Many of the Sunshine Coast’s most desirable waterfront properties have remained in the same families for generations and rarely come to market. “What’s interesting about the Sunshine Coast is that there are so many legacy properties that haven’t even hit the market yet,” she said. “They’re rare to come to market.”
