https://www.cityecho.ca/journalCityecho focuses on buying and selling single-family homes in Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam, with home search and property enquiry support.en-cahttps://www.cityecho.ca/journal/renfrew-collingwood-multiplex-guidehttps://www.cityecho.ca/journal/renfrew-collingwood-multiplex-guideThu, 17 Sep 2026 07:00:00 -0700Renfrew-Collingwood is a comparatively affordable Vancouver East neighbourhood served by both the Expo Line (Joyce-Collingwood station) and the Millennium Line (Renfrew station), where 2023's multiplex zoning changes and the Rupert-Renfrew Station Area Plan are adding new duplex, triplex, fourplex, and low-rise housing to lots that used to allow only a single house.https://www.cityecho.ca/journal/coquitlam-house-prices-august-2026https://www.cityecho.ca/journal/coquitlam-house-prices-august-2026Wed, 16 Sep 2026 07:00:00 -0700In August 2026 Coquitlam's benchmark detached price was $1,599,100, its townhome benchmark was $987,900 and its apartment benchmark was $646,100, all down between 5.9 and 8.5 per cent from a year earlier, according to Greater Vancouver REALTORS.https://www.cityecho.ca/journal/steveston-village-home-buying-guidehttps://www.cityecho.ca/journal/steveston-village-home-buying-guideTue, 15 Sep 2026 07:00:00 -0700Steveston is a former salmon-canning village at Richmond's southwest tip, anchored by two national historic sites and a working fishing harbour, where recent listing data has put village-area townhome prices around $1.08 million and the neighbourhood is exempt from Richmond's new multiplex density rules until 2030 due to sewer capacity.https://www.cityecho.ca/journal/presale-deposit-schedules-bchttps://www.cityecho.ca/journal/presale-deposit-schedules-bcMon, 14 Sep 2026 07:00:00 -0700BC's Real Estate Development Marketing Act requires presale deposits to be held in trust by a brokerage, lawyer, notary, or prescribed trustee, separate from the developer's operating funds, with buyers typically paying 15-25% of the purchase price across a handful of installments, a 7-day rescission period allowing a full refund, and deposit protections that generally keep the funds out of a developer's bankruptcy estate if a project fails to complete.https://www.cityecho.ca/journal/dunbar-southlands-buyers-guidehttps://www.cityecho.ca/journal/dunbar-southlands-buyers-guideSun, 13 Sep 2026 07:00:00 -0700Dunbar-Southlands is a two-part Vancouver Westside neighbourhood: Dunbar Village to the north is a walkable shopping street surrounded by character homes on standard lots, while Southlands south of SW Marine Drive is rural in character, with acreage properties, horse stables, and Fraser River frontage. It borders Pacific Spirit Regional Park and UBC, and detached prices run from roughly $2.5 million for older character homes up to $5 million-plus for premium rebuilds, well above the Metro Vancouver composite benchmark.https://www.cityecho.ca/journal/bc-home-inspection-checklisthttps://www.cityecho.ca/journal/bc-home-inspection-checklistSat, 12 Sep 2026 07:00:00 -0700BC requires home inspectors to be licensed through Consumer Protection BC, which mandates at least 150 hours of approved education, a recognized licensing exam, 50 hours of supervised inspections, and $1 million in professional and general liability insurance; buyers should verify a license before hiring, understand that inspections are visual-only assessments, and treat a report's flagged major-system issues as the basis for further negotiation or specialist evaluation rather than a pass/fail verdict.https://www.cityecho.ca/journal/kerrisdale-buyers-guidehttps://www.cityecho.ca/journal/kerrisdale-buyers-guideFri, 11 Sep 2026 07:00:00 -0700Kerrisdale is a Westside Vancouver neighbourhood built around the 41st Avenue village shopping street, with tree-lined blocks of 1920s-1940s character homes now seeing early multiplex infill under the city's 2023 zoning changes, since Kerrisdale was flagged early as one of the neighbourhoods most likely to see fast multiplex uptake. It suits buyers who want walkable village amenities and strong schools in a quieter, more established setting than Kitsilano or Cambie.https://www.cityecho.ca/journal/cambie-corridor-multiplex-guidehttps://www.cityecho.ca/journal/cambie-corridor-multiplex-guideWed, 09 Sep 2026 07:00:00 -0700The Cambie Corridor Plan runs along the Canada Line from King Edward to Marine Drive and now sits on top of the city's 2023 multiplex zoning, by January 2026 the area had roughly 42 active multiplex permits, 30 under review, 36 in pre-application consultation, and 22 completed multiplexes from 2024-2025, alongside larger mid-rise and high-rise rezonings around the Oakridge town centre. Buyers should distinguish a straightforward multiplex-zoned lot from a larger CD-1 rezoning site, since timelines and pricing differ between the two.https://www.cityecho.ca/journal/strata-fees-explainedhttps://www.cityecho.ca/journal/strata-fees-explainedTue, 08 Sep 2026 07:00:00 -0700BC strata fees fund a building's approved annual operating budget and a legally required contingency reserve fund, with each owner's share set by their unit entitlement rather than an equal split; buyers should compare a fee against what it actually funds, not just its dollar amount, and read recent meeting minutes for underfunding signals.https://www.cityecho.ca/journal/port-moody-buyers-guidehttps://www.cityecho.ca/journal/port-moody-buyers-guideMon, 07 Sep 2026 07:00:00 -0700Port Moody is a smaller waterfront city on the Evergreen Line with Rocky Point Park, Brewer's Row, and Newport Village as its anchors, generally pricing below Vancouver and Burnaby but comparably to Coquitlam, with two Evergreen Line SkyTrain stations, Moody Centre and Inlet Centre, open since December 2016.https://www.cityecho.ca/journal/gst-new-construction-homes-bchttps://www.cityecho.ca/journal/gst-new-construction-homes-bcSun, 06 Sep 2026 07:00:00 -0700New construction and presale homes in BC are subject to 5% federal GST, which resale homes are not; the long-standing GST New Housing Rebate covers 36% of GST (up to $6,300) on homes up to $350,000 and phases out by $450,000, while a new First-Time Home Buyers' GST rebate, in effect for agreements signed on or after May 27, 2025, eliminates GST entirely on new homes up to $1 million and phases it out by $1.5 million, per canada.ca.https://www.cityecho.ca/journal/coquitlam-town-centre-buyers-guidehttps://www.cityecho.ca/journal/coquitlam-town-centre-buyers-guideSat, 05 Sep 2026 07:00:00 -0700Coquitlam Town Centre is a SkyTrain-connected high-rise hub around Lafarge Lake and Town Centre Park, with a composite benchmark price of about $1,003,300 as of May 2026, roughly $97,000 below the Greater Vancouver composite, and direct Evergreen Line access into Burnaby and Vancouver.https://www.cityecho.ca/journal/north-vancouver-multiplex-guidehttps://www.cityecho.ca/journal/north-vancouver-multiplex-guideThu, 03 Sep 2026 07:00:00 -0700The City of North Vancouver adopted small-scale multi-unit zoning allowing 4 to 6 units per lot in December 2025, while the District of North Vancouver voted in April 2026 not to implement the province's Bill 25 mandate, creating two different multiplex environments across a North Shore where detached benchmarks sit above $2.1 million and condos near $780,000.https://www.cityecho.ca/journal/property-transfer-tax-bc-first-time-buyershttps://www.cityecho.ca/journal/property-transfer-tax-bc-first-time-buyersWed, 02 Sep 2026 07:00:00 -0700BC's property transfer tax is 1% on the first $200,000 of a property's fair market value, 2% up to $2 million, and 3% above that (plus a further 2% on the residential portion over $3 million); as of April 1, 2024, the First Time Home Buyers' Program fully exempts purchases up to $835,000 (with a partial exemption to $860,000), and the Newly Built Home exemption fully covers new homes up to $1,100,000 (partial to $1,150,000), per gov.bc.ca.https://www.cityecho.ca/journal/richmond-multiplex-buyers-guidehttps://www.cityecho.ca/journal/richmond-multiplex-buyers-guideTue, 01 Sep 2026 07:00:00 -0700Richmond has rezoned roughly 27,000 single-family and duplex lots to allow 3 to 6 units under BC's small-scale multi-unit housing rules, with attached-home benchmark prices around $1.035 million as of July 2026, below the regional detached benchmark but still a premium market shaped by Canada Line access.https://www.cityecho.ca/journal/reading-a-strata-depreciation-reporthttps://www.cityecho.ca/journal/reading-a-strata-depreciation-reportWed, 12 Aug 2026 07:00:00 -0700Read a strata depreciation report alongside current budgets, decisions, and maintenance records. Projections do not guarantee future costs.https://www.cityecho.ca/journal/subject-free-offers-explainedhttps://www.cityecho.ca/journal/subject-free-offers-explainedTue, 28 Jul 2026 07:00:00 -0700An offer without subjects requires careful discussion of the risks and the actual contract. New-home warranty coverage does not replace an inspection, and statutory rescission is a separate question.https://www.cityecho.ca/journal/brentwood-vs-metrotown-burnabyhttps://www.cityecho.ca/journal/brentwood-vs-metrotown-burnabyFri, 19 Jun 2026 07:00:00 -0700Brentwood and Metrotown are Burnaby's two largest SkyTrain-connected town centres, Brentwood has seen the most recent new-tower construction, while Metrotown is the more established hub anchored by the region's biggest mall outside downtown Vancouver, and the right choice for a family depends more on building age and daily-errand pattern than on price alone.https://www.cityecho.ca/journal/grandview-woodland-multiplex-guidehttps://www.cityecho.ca/journal/grandview-woodland-multiplex-guideFri, 19 Jun 2026 07:00:00 -0700Grandview-Woodland, centred on Commercial Drive in East Vancouver, combines a walkable, high-walk-score commercial strip with strong SkyTrain access and active multiplex redevelopment under Bill 44, guided by the city's Grandview-Woodland Community Plan for managed growth over the coming decades.https://www.cityecho.ca/journal/kitsilano-multiplex-buyers-guidehttps://www.cityecho.ca/journal/kitsilano-multiplex-buyers-guideFri, 19 Jun 2026 07:00:00 -0700Kitsilano offers genuine beach culture and a 4km seawall on Vancouver's Westside, strong elementary and secondary schools, and Burrard Bridge access to downtown, but multiplex development here is slower and more constrained than in East Vancouver due to more complex zoning, so end-unit pricing runs among the highest in the city.https://www.cityecho.ca/journal/marpole-south-vancouver-multiplex-guidehttps://www.cityecho.ca/journal/marpole-south-vancouver-multiplex-guideFri, 19 Jun 2026 07:00:00 -0700Marpole, at the south end of Vancouver's Westside along the Fraser River, has classic 1960s-80s housing stock on standard lots now eligible for multiplex redevelopment under the city's small-scale multi-unit housing rules, direct Canada Line access, and meaningfully lower pricing than Kitsilano or Point Grey.https://www.cityecho.ca/journal/mount-pleasant-multiplex-buyers-guidehttps://www.cityecho.ca/journal/mount-pleasant-multiplex-buyers-guideFri, 19 Jun 2026 07:00:00 -0700Mount Pleasant is one of Vancouver's most walkable east-side neighbourhoods, anchored by Main Street shops and cafés, with attached-home prices running above the regional benchmark near $1.45 million and a new Broadway Subway SkyTrain station expected in late fall 2027.https://www.cityecho.ca/journal/thinking-about-multiplex-home-burnabyhttps://www.cityecho.ca/journal/thinking-about-multiplex-home-burnabyTue, 16 Jun 2026 07:00:00 -0700A multiplex is one building divided into a small number of self-contained homes, a duplex, triplex, or fourplex, that gives buyers house-like space and independence at a lower price of entry than a detached home, and is increasingly popular with multigenerational families across Burnaby and Vancouver.