Buying an ocean view
What separates one view from another, how views are lost, what we check before an offer, and how a view shows up in the price.
READ THE GUIDE ↓Every ocean-view house and condo for sale right now, live from the MLS®.
On this coast the view is often the most valuable thing on the lot. It is also the thing a buyer can least afford to get wrong.
White Rock climbs a south-facing hillside above Semiahmoo Bay, so much of the city looks out over the water to the islands and, on clear days, to Mount Baker. South Surrey adds view homes on the Ocean Park bluff and the slopes above Crescent Beach.
No two views are equal, and the difference shows up in the price.
Hundreds of thousands, sometimes more.
From the sales we have handled, a view can add anywhere from a few hundred thousand dollars to well over half a million, depending on how much water you see, from which rooms, and how safe the view is from what might be built or grown below it. A sliver between rooftops and a full-width view from the main living floor are different products, and they trade that way.
The board’s benchmark has no view setting, so the market figures describe homes in general. For a view home, the comparables are other view homes, ideally on the same slope.
- How much water you see, and from which rooms: the main living floor counts most.
- How protected it is: what sits below, its zoning, and what could replace it.
- Direction and light: sunsets over the bay, the islands, Mount Baker on a clear day.
- Sound: the rail line runs along the waterfront, so trains are part of the outlook.
Views are lost from below.
A house replaced, a building added
The lot below can be redeveloped: an old bungalow replaced by a taller new house, or in some areas more than one home on the lot under newer housing rules. The zoning and the city’s plans set what is allowed. Read them for the lots that matter to your view, not only your own.
Trees grow, and many are protected
A tree below the sightline today can be across it in ten years, and both cities protect many trees, so it may not come down. Look at what is growing below, how fast, and whose land it is on.
In a condo, the building next door
In a condo the view depends on the floor, the direction, and what is planned on the neighbouring sites. White Rock’s official community plan sets out where taller buildings can go; check it, and ask what applications are in.
Changes on your own strata
Rooftop decks, new equipment and landscaping on your own strata’s land can change the outlook too. The minutes will tell you what is planned.
What we check on a view home.
- The title: covenants or building schemes registered on your lot and the lots below, some of which limit height or siting.
- The zoning and the official community plan for the lots between you and the water.
- The lots below: the age of the houses, the lot sizes, and what a rebuild could put there.
- The trees: what they are, how fast they grow, and whether they are protected.
- The view itself at different times: day and evening, low tide and high, and with a train going by.
- For a condo: the floor, the direction, the neighbouring sites and the strata minutes.
If you are selling, the view is the listing.
Photographs and video that show the view from the rooms where you live, a drone pass where the setting earns it, and the answers a view buyer will ask for, covenants, zoning below, what is protected, ready before the first showing. That is how a view gets paid for.
A question about a view home? Ask it here.
A view you are watching, what sits below it, what it would sell for. Twenty years on the peninsula; a plain answer, usually the same day.
Looking for a view? Tell Hamish the type of home, your budget and your must-haves. He will contact you in the way you prefer when a suitable home comes up.
More on the hillside and the bluff.
Buying a penthouseOutlook, outdoor space, the roof above you and the building’s finances, and how penthouses are priced.
White RockA hillside city facing the sea: view homes stacked above the promenade, the pier below, and sunsets that explain every price.
Crescent Beach and Ocean ParkA beach village at the bottom of the hill, a quiet grid of family streets above it, and the ocean at the end of almost every road.The questions view buyers ask us most.
How much does an ocean view add to a home’s value in White Rock?
From the sales we have handled, anywhere from a few hundred thousand dollars to well over half a million, depending on how much water you see, from which rooms, and how secure the view is. The best guide for a particular home is recent sales of comparable view homes on the same slope.
Can my view be built out?
It can, by redevelopment on the lots below, by trees growing into the sightline, or in a condo by new buildings nearby. Covenants or building schemes on title, the zoning and the official community plan set what can be built; check them for the lots between you and the water before you buy.
Are ocean views protected in White Rock?
There is no general right to a view. Some lots carry covenants or building schemes that limit height or siting, and the zoning and the city’s plans limit what can be built where. Check the title and the zoning for the specific lots that matter.
Do the trains affect ocean-view homes in White Rock?
The rail line runs along the waterfront below the hillside, so trains are part of the outlook and the sound. How much they matter depends on the home’s height and distance from the tracks; visit when a train goes by.
Where are the ocean-view homes in White Rock and South Surrey?
Mostly on White Rock’s south-facing hillside above the promenade, from West Beach to East Beach, and in South Surrey on the Ocean Park bluff and the slopes above Crescent Beach. Every one for sale now is on our ocean-view listings page.
The view range is Hamish Ross’s experience from the sales he has handled, not a published statistic. Zoning, official community plans and tree protection rules are set by the City of White Rock and the City of Surrey; check the current versions for any specific property.