The other day I was doing some door knocking and found myself (I didn't know I was lost) in the Hockaday area of Coquitlam. For those unaware of the area, if you took Pipeline Road past Town Centre Park and turned right on Robson Drive - you would be in Hockaday. If you kept going on Pipeline there is a good chance your vehicle will get dusty as men controlling big gravel and sand machines carve into the mountain like kids scooping ice cream.

 

Hockaday is a great neighbourhood for a couple of reasons...it is bordered on one side by the Coquitlam River and the sounds of the river are calming while the forest fresh air is rejuvenating. Throw in the fact you can also be at Coquitlam Centre Mall in less than 5 minutes and are close to Town Centre Park and you have yourself a winner!

 

There must be a catch, right?

 

Yup. It's not cheap.

 

There are currently 12 listings in the neighbourhood, most in the mid-to-high $800's. Three homes are priced over $900K.

 

I was talking to a long-time resident who told me about some of the street names. Hockaday was named after the original owners of the property while other streets like Thor, McTavish and Banner were named after their horses and dogs!

 

Side note... in the future the prestigious "Allan" neighbourhood will have streets named, Skippy, Misty, and Oscar the Grouch. (I grew up on a farm so the list of cat names alone would be enough to build a city.)

 

That got me thinking about names, their origins and the prestige some names have over another, often based on the characteristics of the neighbourhood.

 

Say "Westwood Plateau" and you immediately picture HUGE million dollar homes. British Properties, Shaughnessy, Kitsalano are all desirable (for most) and automatically a picture forms in your minds eye. What if I were to say "Hastings" or "Whalley"?  Right or wrong, you get an immediate image that is likely different than Biffy and Buffy passing Grey Poupon to the Rolls Royce stopped next to them.

 

Nanaimo is a great city. Spent a couple of years working at CKEG radio on Wellington Road with great views of Long Lake. It was great. Talk about interesting names! It had a memorable mayor, Frank Ney, who helped produce great street names like: Jingle Pot Road, Smugglers Hill Drive & a Knights of the Round Table area that included Sir Lancelot Place.

 

Ever play Monopoly? Of course you have. Would you rather have Baltic Avenue ($60) at the start of the board or Boardwalk ($400) just before you pass Go and collect $200?

 

That is what the real estate game is all about, not so much the name but all about the location.

 

Ready to play the real estate game? Know someone is? Give me a call!

 

Allan

 

Allan Krueger

Real Estate Consultant

Keller Williams Results Realty

 

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