Some new houses in Coquitlam are sold while the builder is still building them. On 9 November 2026, four listings for new detached houses in Coquitlam gave a build year of 2027 or 2028. The Coquitlam new homes page shows the current count. Buying one of these is different from buying a finished house. You sign a contract for a house that is not there yet, and the contract decides most of what happens next.
The contract should cover the deposit, the dates, the finishes and the warranty. BC's development marketing law adds protections in some developments, BC Housing's registry shows who built the house, and for a buyer from abroad the signing date can decide whether the purchase is allowed. Each is covered below, as part of our foreign buyer guide. The deposit and money rules are also in the chapter on paying from outside Canada.
Three stages of a new house
A new house is for sale at one of three stages. It can be finished, with the City's approval to live in it. It can be close to finished, with a completion date months away. Or it can be at an early stage, with only a plan and a lot.
The earlier the stage, the more the contract has to cover. A finished house can be inspected. An unfinished one is described on paper, so the plans, the list of finishes and the dates in the contract are all you have until the end.
When the development marketing law applies
The Real Estate Development Marketing Act protects buyers of new units in larger developments. Section 2 applies it to a developer who markets a development unit in British Columbia. Section 1 defines a development property to include 5 or more subdivision lots in a subdivision, 5 or more bare land strata lots, and 5 or more strata lots in a stratified building, among others.
When the Act applies, two protections follow. Section 18 says the developer must promptly place any deposit with a brokerage, lawyer, notary public or prescribed person, who holds it in trust at a savings institution in British Columbia. Section 21 lets the buyer rescind by written notice within 7 days after the later of the agreement date or the date the developer gets the buyer's written acknowledgment that they had a chance to read the disclosure statement.
A builder selling one house on its own lot may fall outside these definitions. In that case the 7 day right and the trust rule in section 18 do not apply, and the contract has to do that work. Ask your lawyer which situation you are in before you pay a deposit.
The general cancel right
BC also has a home buyer rescission period for residential property under the Property Law Act. The Home Buyer Rescission Period Regulation lists four exemptions: property on leased land, a leasehold interest, property sold at auction, and property sold under a court order or court supervision. New houses are not on that list.
Where a buyer uses the right, the regulation sets a fee of 0.25% of the purchase price, paid to the seller. The rescission chapter of the offer and contract guide explains the timing and how to give notice. Which right covers a builder's contract is a legal question, so get your lawyer's answer in writing.
What the contract should say
Read a builder's contract with a BC lawyer before you sign. These are the clauses to check first.
| Clause | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Price and GST | Whether GST is included in the price or added on top |
| Deposit | The amount, who holds it, whether it is in trust, and when it is returned |
| Completion date | An expected date, a latest date, the notice you get, and your right to cancel after the latest date |
| Plans and finishes | The plans and the finishes list attached to the contract, and what the builder may substitute |
| Changes | Whether you may choose finishes, the cost of changes, and the deadline for choices |
| Warranty | The warranty provider and the policy you will receive at completion |
| Inspection | A walk-through before completion and how missing or faulty items are fixed |
| Assignment | Whether you may sell the contract before completion, and the builder's fee |
Ask what happens if the City does not approve the house for living in by the latest date, and what the builder must give you at completion.
Checking the builder and the house
BC Housing says that all new homes built by a licensed residential builder must have home warranty insurance. The cover is 2 years for defects in materials and labour, 5 years for the building envelope, including water getting in, and 10 years for the structure. Some limits within the first period are shorter.
Owner builder homes are exempt from that requirement. BC Housing says the owner builder is responsible for defects for 10 years after occupancy, and a buyer must contact the owner builder directly about defects.
The New Homes Registry shows whether a home was built by a licensed residential builder, whether it has a warranty policy, and whether it may have been built under an owner builder authorization. It covers homes registered since 19 November 2007. Search before you sign, and again before completion. The new home warranty chapter explains what to do with the result.
From contract to keys
The steps below are the usual order for a house bought before completion. Your contract may set them differently, so follow its dates.
- Before signing. Search the New Homes Registry, read the contract and any disclosure statement with a lawyer, and get written mortgage terms from a lender.
- Signing and deposit. Sign, pay the deposit to the holder named in the contract, and keep the receipt. If the development marketing law applies, the 7 day cancel period runs from the later of its two start dates.
- During construction. Make your finish choices by the builder's deadline, and keep every change order in writing with its price.
- Notice of completion. The builder gives notice of the completion date under the contract. Confirm your mortgage, and send the balance of your cash to your lawyer's trust account in time to clear.
- Walk-through. Inspect the house with the builder, and list every missing or faulty item on the builder's form.
- Completion. Your lawyer pays the balance, registers the transfer and files the transfer tax return. You receive the keys and the warranty documents.
A buyer living abroad needs someone in Coquitlam for steps 3 and 5, or must plan to travel for them. An agent or a home inspector you hire can attend the walk-through and send photos and a written list.
Questions for the builder
Ask these before you sign, and keep the answers in writing:
- Is this house part of a development where you filed a disclosure statement?
- Who will hold my deposit, and is it held in trust?
- Which warranty provider covers the house, and when does the policy start?
- What are the expected and latest completion dates, and how often have you met your dates on past houses?
- Is GST included in the price?
- Which finishes are included, and which cost extra?
The timing risk for a buyer from abroad
The federal regulations on the foreign buyer ban say that acquiring a legal or equitable interest in residential property, with or without conditions, is a purchase. A signed contract to buy a house can give the buyer an equitable interest before the house is built. So for a non-Canadian, the signing date can be the purchase date.
The rules are changing now. The ban runs to 1 January 2027. Budget 2026, posted on 5 November 2026, proposes to keep it for existing homes to 2029 and exempt new residential properties, but it does not define a new home or give a start date. A contract signed before the new law and its regulations exist rests on rules nobody has read yet.
Two steps reduce the risk. First, ask a lawyer whether your purchase is allowed on the signing date under the law in force that day, and on the completion date. Second, ask for a clause that deals with the case where the law prevents you from completing, such as a return of the deposit. The builder may refuse it. Then you decide with the full picture. The chapter on the federal ban sets out the current exceptions.
Our journal article on assignment clauses explains what happens if you need to sell the contract before completion, including the tax on a quick resale.