Derrick Penner, Vancouver Sun, June 22, 2017

The air of Vancouver real estate is rarefied for ordinary purchasers, but prominent philanthropists Joseph and Rosalie Segal are reaching for the top of the luxury market with a $63-million asking price for their palatial Point Grey mansion.

That price would set a record for Metro Vancouver, according to a statement from Sotheby’s International Realty Canada.

The Segals’ home isn’t listed on the real estate industry’s Multiple Listing Service, but the next most-expensive listing there is $46.8 million for Majestic Estate, a 1912 heritage property on Tecumseh Ave. in the heart of Shaughnessy.

The 21,977-square-foot Belmont Estate property boasts ocean views above Spanish Banks, gallery halls with seating for up to 100 guests for private events and a sweeping grand staircase beneath a French Ormolu chandelier, according to the realtor.

“No other property of comparison has been offered in Greater Vancouver to date,” said Christa Frosch, Sotheby’s listing agent for the property, and “the fact that its long-standing owners are beloved in our community for their philanthropic dedication to the city of Vancouver only adds to the home’s heritage.”

The home is located on a gently sloping 1.28-acre lot in the prime Vancouver neighbourhood with a tiered three-level garden lined with mature sequoia trees, golden spruce and over 12,000 blooming flowers such as tulips and hyacinths, complimented by rhododendrons, magnolia and lilac trees.

The Segals are putting their home on the market at a time when Vancouver’s luxury real estate market is experiencing “unprecedented uncertainty,” according to a report issued earlier this year by Sotheby’s International, due to B.C.’s 15-per-cent foreign buyers tax and a general slowdown in the market.

At the time the Sotheby’s report was released, sales of luxury homes, defined as transactions over $4 million, had fallen precipitously in the first couple of months of 2017 compared with 2016, although the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver’s more recent reports have recorded something of a rebound.

And a sale close to the $63-million asking price would eclipse any recent top-end sale in the city by a wide margin, according to a list compiled for Postmedia by the property data firm Landcor Data Corp.

Sotheby’s did not release the address, but property records show the Segals own a home at 4743 Belmont, which was assessed by B.C. Assessment at $40.3 million.

In other nearby west-side neighbourhoods, the median house price in May was $3.4 million, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, which was about 3.5 per cent less than the same month a year ago.

The April 2016 sale of nearby 4833 Belmont Ave. for $31.1 million is the most expensive single-family transaction in the last two years, according to the Landcor research. That property was assessed by B.C. Assessment at $33.7 million for 2017.

And 4726 Belmont sold for $29.5 million in September of 2016. It was assessed at $24.9 million for 2017 tax purposes.