Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Asking price plunges for Len Barrie’s former home on Bear Mountain

The luxury mansion built for Bear Mountain developer Len Barrie is back on the market at less than half of last year’s asking price.
2300 Compass Pointe Place.jpg
Len Barrie’s mansion at 2300 Compass Pointe Pl. on LangfordÍs Bear Mountain.

The luxury mansion built for Bear Mountain developer Len Barrie is back on the market at less than half of last year’s asking price.

Showcased last year as the glamorous setting for the Bachelor Canada television show, the 12,500-square-foot home at 2300 Compass Pointe Pl. in Langford is now listed at $4.988 million, down from $9.999 million in January 2012. The house had previously been priced at $13.9 million.

The six-bedroom, 10-bathroom home on 1.38 acres was taken off the market in April 2012 and went back on May 1.

“It just needed a break. The market was quite soft at that point,” said Scott Piercy, who has the listing with Jim LeBlanc at Sotheby’s International Realty Canada. Last year, the house was leased for the television show and some upgrading was carried out as well, Piercy said.

The new price is in line with the current market, he said. “We are seeing a good resurgence of buyers in the multimillion-dollar level.”

Features of the house include a swimming pool, an 1,800-square-foot master suite, fire pits, a nanny suite, putting green, steam room, wine cellar, theatre and panoramic views. It is assessed at $4.49 million.

Barrie, a former professional hockey player, was forced by court order to hand over the house keys to HSBC Bank Canada in January 2012. HSBC held mortgages on the house totalling more than $14 million, court documents state.

High-end properties are frequently sold in Greater Victoria. In May, 18 properties sold for $1 million or more. Of those, two were for more than $2 million, the Victoria Real Estate Board said.

The number of real estate sales in Greater Victoria increased in May from April, but the average price of a single-family house declined. Last month, it was $565,763, versus $622,387 in May 2012.

North Saanich’s Villa Madrona is another luxury property that has dropped in price significantly. Now priced at $6.998 million, it was on for $8.48 million last year. In 2005, it was listed for $18.5 million.

The Piercy-LeBlanc team has six other properties priced at $4 million and higher on the Real Estate Board’s multiple listing service. These include a waterfront Uplands property built for Thomas William Paterson, B.C.’s lieutenant-governor from 1909 to 1914. Listed at $11.9 million, it holds the record for the highest price paid for a Greater Victoria house, selling in 2006 for $10.5 million.

Meanwhile, Bear Mountain Resort on Skirt Mountain was put on the market last month.

Bear Mountain Land Holdings, on behalf of HSBC Bank Canada, hired Colliers International to market the resort, but the asking price is not public. The resort includes two golf courses, a hotel and development land. HSBC was owed $250 million when it took over the resort, which was in creditor protection.

Barrie was removed as chief executive officer in 2010.

cjwilson@timescolonist.com