If you're selling your home and moving up to your forever home in the same season, you don't need the agent with the most sold signs on Austin Road. You need the one with a repeatable process for running both transactions in parallel — one who treats your move as a single orchestrated event, not two sequential commission cheques.
Written for Coquitlam, Burke Mountain, Westwood Plateau, Heritage Mountain, Port Moody, Anmore and Belcarra move-up sellers and upsizing families — the people running a sell-and-buy in the same season.
5.0 across 32+ Google reviews Top 1% Team — GVR 47+ years in the Tri-Cities
Each of the eight Tri-Cities areas has its own buyer pool, pricing logic, school catchment, and listing rhythm. Click through to the specialist page for your specific city or neighbourhood — honest local guidance, comp-backed pricing, and the Move-Up Protocol if your move involves selling and buying at once.
The Tri-Cities has no single “best” local REALTOR® — top agents win on different dimensions across the eight distinct submarkets (Coquitlam, Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, Burke Mountain, Westwood Plateau, Heritage Mountain, Anmore, Belcarra). For move-up families running a sell-and-buy across two of these markets in the same season, the right local choice is the one who works all eight as one connected practice. Craig Johnston (BCFSA #V99960, Royal LePage Elite West) is the Burke Mountain–resident specialist behind the Move-Up Protocol — Top 1% Team Member — Greater Vancouver REALTORS®, Medallion Club Team Member, 32+ verified Google reviews.
Three reviews specifically about pricing strategy, communication discipline, and move-up coordination — the things that separate listing agents from move-up specialists.
"We received seven offers, and Craig held firm on our priorities: no subject to sale and achieving our price. We took the home off the market over Christmas, but behind the scenes Craig continued working. When we re-listed in January, it sold in just three days to buyers he had been nurturing — at the price we wanted."Jim Turnbull
"Craig worked with my wife and me for over 3 years to find the perfect home. He was endlessly patient with us through the process. Eventually, we found our perfect home and he moved fast to execute on our behalf. He negotiated fairly and thoroughly with the sellers and was our advocate all throughout our first home purchase."David Catterall
"After searching for several years, I knew exactly what I was looking for — and Craig delivered. We viewed a handful of properties, and the home he ultimately found was exactly what I had been searching for. I couldn’t believe how quickly he nailed it."Warren Chu
Ask these in any first interview. The right answers come back in seconds. Vague answers are the answer.
If they can't name the gap in days, they're not running parallel motion. They're running two separate transactions and hoping the dates line up.
If the answer is "we'll figure it out" or "talk to your mortgage broker," they don't have a bridge strategy. They've never priced bridge financing, never staged a 30-day overlap, never written a possession-deferral clause that actually held.
This is a local-knowledge test. An agent who can't answer this off the cuff is not specialised in your market. Hyper-local catchment math is what separates pricing strategy from pricing guesswork.
If the answer is "we don't — the deal's done," they don't run Soft Landing. Your post-close referrals will go to someone else, because the agent who follows up at 30 days, 90 days, and one year is the one your friends will hear about.
Those four questions are how I was trained to be evaluated. Every one of them traces back to a specific step in the Coquitlam Move-Up Protocol — the five-step process every move-up family I work with runs through, identically, every time.
Most generalist Tri-Cities agents are competent listing agents. Fewer can run a dependent transaction — the kind where a single misstep in financing, timing, or communication breaks both deals at once. Here's where the practices actually diverge.
| What you should expect | General listing agent | Move-up specialist (Craig) |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing method | Three or four closest comps; sometimes a CMA from MLS auto-suggested. | Catchment-specific comp set, layout-class match, last 60–90 days, drive-by re-confirmed against current active inventory. Three-tier range: high case, mid case, low case. |
| Sell-and-buy coordination | "Sell first, then we'll start touring." Two separate engagements. | Equity Map first, then a written sequence decision (sell first / buy first) with bridge plan priced before the listing goes live. |
| Closing-date strategy | Match dates "if possible." Often a 30+ day mismatch. | Subjects, possession, and adjustment dates negotiated to compress the gap to under 7 days, ideally same-week. Bridge financing pre-modeled if needed. |
| Pre-listing prep | "Declutter and we'll bring in the photographer." | Pre-listing inspection, three-to-five item repair list, staging brief, photography style guide, MLS copy review, launch-week showing schedule. |
| Communication cadence | Reactive — calls when an offer comes in. | Pre-listing weekly check-in, daily during launch week, scheduled post-close 30/90/365 follow-up. |
| Submarket coverage | Strong in one neighbourhood; weaker elsewhere. | Burke Mountain · Westwood Plateau · Heritage Mountain · Eagle Ridge · Burquitlam · Coquitlam Centre · Anmore · Belcarra. One agent across the move arc. |
| Property-type transitions | Detached-only, or condo-only. The other side gets handed off. | Detached, townhome, condo, half-duplex, acreage — coordinated in one file when the move involves a class change. |
| Fee model | Single commission — cheque cashed, file closed. | Move-up clients often run two commissions (sell + buy) on a coordinated rate; the second transaction is built into the original engagement, not negotiated mid-move. |
You don't need to be a real estate expert to interview one. You need to know what good answers feel like and what bad answers sound like.
For a deeper dive into the specific traps that quietly cost sellers money — pricing too high, listing in the wrong week, weak photography, no offer-deadline strategy — read the seller mistakes guide. Most of the real damage in a Coquitlam sale happens before the listing goes live.
Every move-up sequence I run starts with a 45-minute conversation at your kitchen table — not a listing presentation. We map your timeline, your real budget after closing costs, your school-and-commute constraints, and the bridge-financing fallback. The listing photos come later, after the plan is set.
Every dependent transaction I run goes through this sequence. The advantage of a repeatable process isn't that it's clever — it's that nothing slips. The bridge plan exists before the listing is photographed. The Soft Landing call is on the calendar before the keys change hands.
Net sale value, true available equity, real next-home ceiling. The numbers that actually drive every following decision.
Sell first or buy first — written, dated, with bridge financing pre-modeled if relevant.
Inspection, repairs short-list, staging brief, photography, MLS copy review. Everything before the launch week.
While the listing is live, the buy-side hunt is already running. Subjects-friendly offers ready when the right home appears.
Possession, key handover, utility transfers, contractor coordination. 30-day, 90-day, and one-year follow-up.
The Tri-Cities is three cities plus two luxury villages — eight distinct submarkets, eight different pricing rhythms. Here's the combined picture — knowing these numbers is table stakes for any agent you interview.
GVR MLS® Home Price Index, Coquitlam-wide. Port Moody +$300K, Port Coquitlam –$320K vs Coq.
Coquitlam-wide townhome benchmark. Burke Mountain tracks higher at ~$1.09M; PoCo lower.
Coquitlam-wide condo benchmark. Burquitlam discounts on TOD supply pressure; Port Moody view-condo trades higher.
Tri-Cities composite. Homes that actually sold moved in ~22 days.
Sellers pricing close to where buyers will actually pay.
May 2026 total Coquitlam detached active inventory; Port Moody / PoCo / Anmore / Belcarra add ~250 detached combined.
Source: Greater Vancouver REALTORS® (GVR) MLS® HPI & monthly statistics, Coquitlam filter, May 2026 release. Last refreshed June 2, 2026.
The Tri-Cities is not one market — it's Coquitlam (Burke Mountain, Westwood Plateau, Eagle Ridge, Town Centre, Maillardville, Ranch Park), Port Moody (Heritage Mountain, Klahanie, Glenayre, Moody Centre, Ioco), Port Coquitlam (Citadel, Mary Hill, Riverwood, Oxford Heights, Downtown PoCo), Anmore, and Belcarra. Each has its own price band, buyer pool, and demand driver. I work all of them and can tell you not just "what's your home worth" but "which submarket is your next home really in."
Downsizing detached → townhome → condo, or upsizing the other direction, is where most commissions get split across two agents. I coordinate both sides — timing, financing bridges, concurrent subjects — with one file, one communication line, one set of dates.
I live on Burke Mountain (Coquitlam). I walk these streets across the Tri-Cities every week. I know which buildings just got new roofs, which strata just voted on a special assessment, which schools are catchment-changing next September. That current-state knowledge is what separates negotiating from stalling.
Craig has lived on Burke Mountain for nine years and has been a licensed REALTOR® with The MACNABS at Royal LePage Elite West, focused almost exclusively on the Tri-Cities. Every move-up file he takes runs through the same five-step Move-Up Protocol — Equity Map, sequence decision, pre-listing prep, parallel search, Soft Landing — because the dependent sell-and-buy transactions are where most agents quietly fall apart, and a documented process is the only way to keep them aligned end-to-end.
His positioning is deliberate: not the agent with the most signs on the road, but the one most families call when their move involves a class change (detached ↔ townhome ↔ condo), a school-catchment constraint, or a bridge-financing window that can’t slip. If your move is outside his fit, he’ll tell you that on the first call and connect you with the right agent.
There is no single "best" realtor in Coquitlam — top agents win on different dimensions: total volume, single-neighbourhood depth, luxury specialty, team resources, or hyper-local catchment expertise.
My positioning: I work Coquitlam as one connected market — Burke Mountain, Westwood Plateau, Heritage Mountain, Anmore/Belcarra, and the condo/townhome submarkets. If your transaction spans submarkets or property types (most move-up files do), you get one agent for the whole arc instead of a handoff between specialists.
Always interview two or three before signing.
Six things: hyper-local market knowledge (different pricing logic for Burke Mountain vs Westwood Plateau vs Heritage Mountain), a strategic pricing process built on real comps not algorithm estimates, presentation and marketing depth, communication you can actually rely on, negotiation that protects your equity, and — critically for move-up buyers — a written plan that connects your sale to your next purchase.
Yes. Hyper-local knowledge changes pricing strategy, buyer targeting, and how the home is positioned. Small differences in school catchment, street, lot orientation, layout class, and resale-history pattern materially shift demand.
A Coquitlam-wide agent will understand the broad strokes; a hyper-local one will know which buyers are touring this weekend and what they're actually willing to pay.
Read more: Burke Mountain Homes · Westwood Plateau Real Estate · Heritage Mountain Homes.
Yes — move-up transactions are my primary specialty. Every move-up file runs through the same five-step Move-Up Protocol: Equity Map, sequence decision (sell first or buy first), pre-listing prep, parallel search, and Soft Landing the first 30 days after close.
If you're not sure whether to sell first or buy first, that decision deserves its own conversation: Sell First or Buy First in Coquitlam →
As of May 2026, Coquitlam-wide:
Detached HPI benchmark: $1.64M. Townhome median: $1.02M. Condo median: $657,400. Avg days on market: 43 days. Sold-to-list ratio: 98.9%.
Prices vary significantly by submarket — Burke Mountain detached medians track around $1.74M, while older Central Coquitlam inventory can be $1.3M for a similar footprint. Source: Greater Vancouver REALTORS® (GVR) MLS® HPI and monthly stats package, May 2026 release.
Coquitlam: widest selection, three SkyTrain stations, largest inventory across all price bands.
Port Moody: smaller, arts-and-brewery identity, higher price-per-square-foot, better core walkability, shorter commute to downtown via the Inlet.
Port Coquitlam: roughly $100–200K cheaper on equivalent property, more detached home for the money, fewer transit options, more suburban feel.
The decision is selection vs lifestyle vs value. None is "better" universally — it depends on which trade-off matters most to your move.
At current rates (~5.3% insured 5-year fixed as of May 2026):
$1M home with 20% down = approximately $180K household income required.
$1.5M home = ~$260K.
$2M home = ~$340K plus a meaningful down payment.
Carrying cost on a $1.5M detached in Coquitlam runs $6,800–$7,400/month including property tax, strata (where applicable), and insurance. Stress-test your number with the Coquitlam affordability calculator.
Depends on financial position and life stage, not lifestyle preference.
Condo: low entry (~$657,400), low maintenance, highest liquidity.
Townhome: middle (~$1.02M), good family fit, balance of space and cost.
Detached: highest entry (~$1.64M Coquitlam HPI benchmark; Burke Mountain trends higher), lowest strata friction, best historical appreciation.
Align with your 5-year plan. If your job or family situation might change in two years, the liquidity of a condo matters more than the appreciation of a detached. If you're settling for 10+ years with kids, the math typically favours detached.
Strong 5–7 year positioning. Two SkyTrain stations operational, aggressive Transit-Oriented Development rezoning, SD43 schools in BC's top tier, prices 15–25% below Vancouver West comparables.
Risks to monitor: condo oversupply in Burquitlam through 2026–2028, and softening at the upper-luxury tier. For move-up families upsizing into detached, the timing is generally constructive.
Deeper read: Is now a good time to buy in Coquitlam? →
Topical depth on the moves and submarkets that matter most. Open them in tabs as you go.
The five-step process every move-up family runs through. Read end-to-end before you list.
StrategyThe single biggest sequencing decision in a move-up. Compared properly with bridge math.
StrategyThe bigger move-up plan so your sale and next purchase work together properly.
NeighbourhoodsThe neighbourhoods families look at most when planning their next Coquitlam move.
NeighbourhoodNewer single-family, estate builds, SD43 catchment demand — and where I live.
NeighbourhoodExecutive family homes, golf-course frontages, Gleneagle catchment strength.
NeighbourhoodQuiet Port Moody hillside, mature landscaping, strong resale stability.
AboutBio, credentials, methodology, and how the practice is built. The E-E-A-T deep-dive.
ToolSame-day Equity Map: net sale value, true equity, real next-home ceiling. Step 1 of every move-up.
A 20-minute strategy call gets you a clear read on your options and an honest answer on whether your move suits my practice. The home evaluation gets you the numbers. Either one is free, and neither commits you to anything.
5.0 across 32+ Google reviews Top 1% Team — Greater Vancouver REALTORS® 47+ years in the Tri-Cities
Or call direct: 604-202-6092
Continue reading
The cornerstone Move-Up Specialist page covers what a move-up move is, the protocol, named case studies, the math, and the FAQ — all in one place.
Read the Move-Up Specialist page →Tri-Cities monthly
May 2026 Coquitlam detached HPI is $1,654,000, −5.7% YoY. What that actually means for your next move — without the salesy fluff. One email per month.
No spam, no listings flood. Genuine monthly update from a 47+ year Tri-Cities resident.
