The combined sale of two properties in Whistler’s exclusive Stonebridge development this week marks the highest-priced real estate transaction in resort history.
At $32 million, the recent sale of a six-bedroom, 10-bathroom luxury home at 5462 Stonebridge Drive shattered Whistler’s record for highest-ever sale price on its own, real estate agent John Ryan, who represented the buyers, said in a release issued July 31. Whistler realtor Maggi Thornhill of Engel & Völkers represented the sellers of the 8,700-square-foot “architectural masterpiece" and the nearly three-hectare lot it sits on. Featuring sweeping views of Alta Lake, Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains, the property became the highest-priced house for sale in all of Canada when it was listed last year at $39 million.
But including the vacant, four-ha adjacent lot simultaneously acquired in a private sale, the deal sets a new record for Whistler’s priciest transaction at $40 million.
The sale is an important one, Ryan said, that could stand to “shift the needle” in the resort’s high-end real estate market.
“There are so many high-end homes in Whistler, some in excess of $30 to $50 million, that have never hit the market,” Ryan added. “With anything that is precedent-setting, there is an injection of confidence that we have the right product in this market, and that we have the buyers willing to step up.”
The modern estate serving as the centrepiece of the landmark sale was built by Whistler’s Dürfeld Constructors in 2014 and conceptualized by the team at internationally-acclaimed, U.S.-based architectural practice Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, the same firm responsible for designing 75 Apple stores around the world. The property’s dramatic location informed its design, a representative for Bohlin Cywinski Jackson noted in the release.
The residence features a curved, floating staircase suspended by cables that doubles as an art installation, a 25-metre pool cantilevered over the cliff edge it’s built into, in addition to three fireplaces, a wine cellar, grotto spa, floor-to-ceiling windows and an elevator.
“I’ve never seen anything like it, personally. It is incredibly unique,” Ryan added. “This is by far the most exciting home ever to hit the market in Whistler, architecturally.”
In the release, the realtor also pointed out the impact high-end homes like the one at 5462 Stonebridge Drive can have on Whistler’s economy and workforce.
“The amount of trades it takes to build these homes helps to keep our talent living in this town,” he said. “I don’t think there is anywhere in Canada that would compare to the quality of the work that we get out of our builders. They are special. They take everything to the next level. We have people from all over the world buying here, and they recognize the creativity.”
The property described as “a marvel of architecture and engineering” is changing hands for the first time since it was commissioned.
Its new owners intend to honour the existing home by developing the adjacent lot at 5458 Stonebridge Drive in keeping with its design.
The international couple “are not just buying an incredible property,” Ryan added, “they are loving and supporting the community. They are at the local gym every day, they are biking and hiking, and they are entrenched in the dining scene. They are absolutely blown away by what Whistler has to offer.”
The buyers are also set to support Whistler’s community in another way: gross property taxes for 5462 Stonebridge Drive reached $95,214 in 2022, according to REW.ca. In 2022, the property’s total value was assessed at $18.67 million—$10.398 million for the land, and $8.272 for the building. The original owners purchased the lot for $5 million in 2007.
As a resort municipality, Whistler is exempt from Canada's federal foreign buyer ban, as well as provincial speculation and vacancy taxes.
In an August 2021 Georgia Strait article, Adam Major, CEO of real-estate tracking site zealty.ca, told writer Carlito Pablo that the October 2020 sale of another Stonebridge home for $19 million may have been "the highest-ever recorded sale price for a home in Whistler," at the time.
This isn't Ryan’s first brush with record-setting real-estate transactions. In October 2021, he oversaw the highest-priced land sale in Whistler to date when a 2.2-ha lot at 5466 Stonebridge Drive sold for $9 million.
The median price of a detached home in Whistler was $2.775 million in the first quarter of 2023, according to the Whistler Real Estate Company.
Now, the most expensive home up for sale in Whistler on REW.ca is a six-bedroom, 7,492-sq-ft chalet on Sunridge Drive in Brio listed for $18.95 million.
