Inside the Listing
1,990 sq ft over two floors. 484 sq ft rooftop terrace. Coquitlam Town Centre at the corner of Pinetree and Glen.
May 28, 2026 · 12 min read
A Tri-Cities REALTOR’s read on what this top-floor unit at 2968 Glen Drive actually delivers, the three buyer profiles it fits, the honest trade-offs, and what to verify before you write an offer. Listed at $1,199,900.
Read the inside-the-listing case study
Value Comparison
3,603 sq ft + view-acreage on Bowen at the same number Tri-Cities buyers spend on a Burke Mountain townhome. The honest comparison.
May 28, 2026 · 13 min read
A direct, listing-anchored comparison. 947 Village Drive in Cates Hill on Bowen ($1,922,200, 4 bed, 3,603 sq ft) vs what the same number buys in Coquitlam, Port Moody, and Anmore. The lifestyle math, the commute reality, and who Bowen actually fits.
Read the comparison
For Buyers
5% / blended / 20%. The $1.5M cliff. CMHC math. The five mistakes Tri-Cities first-time buyers make.
May 28, 2026 · 14 min read
Federal minimums, CMHC insurance, the $1.5M cliff (federal change December 2024), the Tri-Cities reality at each price band, the FHSA + HBP + PTT exemption stack, gifted down payments, and the five mistakes I see Tri-Cities first-time buyers make most often.
Read the down-payment guide
For Buyers
Six things a buyer’s agent actually does. What it costs in BC. The listing-agent myth. Four red flags. Eight interview questions.
May 28, 2026 · 15 min read
An honest, REALTOR-side explanation. Six concrete things a buyer’s agent does, what they cost in BC (and who pays), the buyer-agency agreement walk-through, the “I’ll just go direct to the listing agent” myth, four red flags when interviewing, and eight questions worth asking before you sign.
Read the buyer-agent guide
For Sellers
$700K–$1M of equity. Three timing traps. Where Coquitlam empty-nesters actually move — and the family conversations that decide it.
May 25, 2026 · 14 min read
Most Coquitlam empty-nesters are sitting on $1.5M–$3M of mostly-paid-off detached real estate. The decision to downsize is rarely about whether — it’s about when, where, and how to unlock the equity without making the three timing mistakes that cost downsizers $50K–$200K each year. Equity math, where they actually move, the principal-residence tax mechanics, and the family conversations that decide it.
Read the downsizing playbook
For Buyers
$45K–$120K catchment premium. The SD43 timing trap. How to actually buy into the school you want.
May 25, 2026 · 13 min read
Families pay $45K–$120K more for the same house in the right SD43 catchment. They sometimes pay it anyway, on the wrong house, in the wrong catchment, because they trusted a listing description. Here’s how to verify catchment, time your registration, and price the premium honestly — before you write the offer. Plus the French Immersion entry-point reality.
Read the catchment guide
For Buyers
Deposit structure, GST on new builds, completion-date risk, assignment rules. The real trade-offs at $1.4M.
May 25, 2026 · 13 min read
Burke Mountain has both: active pre-sale inventory from established developers and a healthy resale market. The marketing for each makes the other sound like a mistake. Neither is right by default. Which one wins your file depends on six specific variables — timing, deposit cash, tax exposure, completion-date tolerance, mortgage qualifying horizon, and how much you value seeing the actual home. With a side-by-side $1.4M worked example.
Read the pre-sale framework
For Buyers
$15K–$80K+ per unit. The seven strata documents you must read during subject removal — and the eight warning signs that predict a levy.
May 25, 2026 · 14 min read
A Coquitlam condo or townhouse is two purchases in one: the unit itself, and a partial share of the building it sits in. Special levies of $15K–$80K+ per unit are not rare in 2026 — and almost every one of them was visible in the strata documents months before the levy passed. The seven documents to read, how to interpret the depreciation report, contingency reserve fund math, and the warning signs that predict a special levy.
Read the strata levy guide
For Buyers
Contract rate + 2%. Worked examples at $800K, $1.2M, and $1.6M. What you actually qualify for in 2026.
May 25, 2026 · 12 min read
The federal mortgage stress test is the single most misunderstood number in a Coquitlam buyer’s file. Most people see a 4.5% rate and assume that’s what their lender is qualifying them at. They’re not. With contract rate plus 2%, you’re being qualified at 6.4–7.1% — the gap is the difference between the home you think you can afford and the home a lender will actually approve. Current rates, worked examples, insured vs uninsured, fixed vs variable.
Read the stress test guide
Local Guide
10 km, 420 m of gain, 4–5 hours. The old easy route off Karley Crescent has been closed since 2021 — here’s the legal way to Crystal Falls.
May 25, 2026 · 12 min read
The original Crystal Falls trail off Karley Crescent has been off-limits since February 2021 — the trail crosses private property and the City of Coquitlam confirms no public access. The legal alternative runs through Pinecone Burke Provincial Park via the Woodland Walk Trail and the Coquitlam River Connector. Trailhead, parking, distance, time, hazards, and when to go — all verified May 2026 by a 9-year Burke Mountain local.
Read the Crystal Falls guide
Local News
8.9 acres. 400m track. Lit turf. Four tennis courts. Burke Mountain finally has its first real sports facility — and it opens this summer.
May 21, 2026 · 14 min read
After nine years of telling Burke buyers “the mountain is still building itself,” the answer is finally changing. The Burke Mountain Athletic Park at 3390/3400 David Avenue opens this summer with a regulation 400m rubberized track, a lit turf field, and four full-sized tennis courts. A 9-year resident’s honest read on what this means for soccer practice, weekend life, the real estate calculus, and the elevated viewing ledges that change how parents experience their kids’ games.
Read the Athletic Park guide
Local News
Coquitlam’s renewed $32M outdoor pool reopens May 30 — and the six neighbourhoods quietly winning from it.
May 20, 2026 · 16 min read
Coquitlam’s renewed Mundy Park Outdoor Pool reopens for the 2026 season on May 30. Full guide — hours, admission, features, the 178-hectare park itself, and the six Coquitlam neighbourhoods that ring it (Central Coquitlam, Austin Heights, Mundy/Cape Horn, Laurentian Belaire, Maillardville, Ranch Park).
Read the Mundy Park guide
For Buyers
Five programs that stack to $20K–$40K in savings — and the FHSA most banks forget to mention.
May 19, 2026 · 11 min read
Every rebate, tax break, and savings program a Coquitlam first-time buyer can actually use in 2026 — PTT exemption (up to $8,000 off), FHSA ($40K tax-free), RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan ($60K per buyer), the GST New Housing Rebate, and the often-better BC Newly Built Home exemption.
Read the full program guide
For Buyers
The 7 days that decide whether your accepted offer becomes a closed sale.
May 19, 2026 · 10 min read
A day-by-day walk through the BC subject removal period — financing, inspection, strata documents, title, insurance — plus the inspection-timing mistake that kills more Coquitlam deals than any other.
Read the subject removal guide
For Sellers
20% of profit on sales within a year. The exemptions most sellers don’t realize they qualify for.
May 19, 2026 · 10 min read
The BC Home Flipping Tax took effect January 1, 2025. If you sell within 365 days you owe 20% of profit; the rate phases to zero by day 730. Rates, the 25+ exemptions, and how this layer stacks on top of federal capital gains and anti-flipping rules.
Read the tax guide
For Sellers
When it saves your sale, when it sinks it, and the disclosure rule nobody warns you about.
May 19, 2026 · 11 min read
A pre-listing inspection costs $500–$700 and can either lift your final price or hand the buyer leverage you didn’t need to give. When it’s the right move for a Coquitlam seller, when it’s a waste, and the BC disclosure trap that catches sellers who order one without a plan.
Read the inspection guide
For Sellers
Hold-cost math, the three-question framework, and the spring-vs-fall trade-off.
May 12, 2026 · 10 min read
A clear framework for the timing decision in the May 2026 Coquitlam buyer’s market — what spring is rewarding, what fall is likely to bring, the three questions that decide it, and the ~$40K hold-cost of waiting six months on a $1.4M home.
Read the timing framework
For Sellers
Three pricing postures, the math, and why anchoring high actively loses money in 2026.
May 12, 2026 · 11 min read
Sales-to-Active sits at 6.7–11.1% across Coquitlam property types in May 2026. Three pricing postures, the worked math showing how a +6% anchor loses $60K on a $1.5M home, and the four inputs that determine your right price.
Read the pricing playbook
For Sellers
Commission, GST, legal, prep, staging, mortgage penalties — the full net-proceeds walkthrough.
May 12, 2026 · 10 min read
Every line item that comes off your sale price, with a full worked example netting $624,900 on a $1.4M Coquitlam detached. The mortgage prepayment penalty wildcard, the GST nobody mentions, and what most sellers miscalculate.
Read the cost walkthrough
Featured Listing
2,552 sq ft Westwood Plateau end-unit. Mount Baker views. Deercrest Estates amenity centre. $1,199,900.
May 12, 2026 · 11 min read
A 47-year Coquitlam resident's read on a rare end-unit townhouse in one of the Plateau's most-livable communities. The Mount Baker view, the 2,552 sq ft floorplan, three buyer profiles, honest trade-offs, and what to ask on a showing. Open house Sat 2-4 PM, Sun 12-2 PM.
Read the listing breakdown
For Sellers
BC’s 2024 tenancy rules. Four-month notice, twelve-month occupancy, the real price gap.
May 10, 2026 · 9 min read
The two paths (vacant-possession vs tenant-in-place), the four-month notice math, bad-faith eviction liability now up to 12 months rent, and how to decide for your specific tenant and timeline.
Read the playbook
For Sellers
The subject-free premium is real but small. The collapse cost when you guess wrong isn’t.
May 10, 2026 · 10 min read
Real premium ranges from Coquitlam closings, collapse rate data, three lived scenarios from Burke Mountain to Heritage, and a four-check decision framework for when an offer arrives.
Read the offer math
For Sellers
Probate timeline, deemed disposition, co-executor alignment, and pre-listing realities.
May 10, 2026 · 9 min read
BC’s 4–8 month probate timeline, three timing strategies, the deemed disposition tax mechanic that often eliminates capital gains, co-executor alignment, and what most executors discover too late.
Read the executor’s guide
For Buyers
Detached sales up 14% YoY. Coquitlam prices still −7.7%. The buyer's window in May 2026.
May 5, 2026 · 9 min read
Verified GVR May 2026 data shows detached sales up 14% year-over-year while Coquitlam detached prices remain 7.7% below last spring. Why this is the buyer's window.
Read the buyer read
For Sellers
Detached momentum just shifted. Why early-recovery sellers gain leverage in May–June.
May 5, 2026 · 9 min read
May 2026 GVR data: detached sales rose 14% YoY across Metro Vancouver. The May–June 2026 selling protocol — pricing, prep, launch.
Read the seller protocol
Buyer Education
What the MLS HPI benchmark actually is — and why it beats average sale price.
May 5, 2026 · 10 min read
Plain-English explainer of the MLS Home Price Index, how it's calculated, and how to use it for buying or selling — with verified May 2026 figures.
Read the explainer
For Sellers
Spring's a strong window for prepped homes — punishing for half-prepped ones
April 27, 2026 · 11 min read
Q2 2026 Tri-Cities data, three “list now” scenarios, three “wait or hold” scenarios, the September dead zone, neighbourhood timing, and a five-question framework to know which side of the line you’re on.
Read the framework
For Buyers
Same dollar, six different lives — Coquitlam, Port Moody & Port Coquitlam
April 27, 2026 · 12 min read
Side-by-side breakdown of what $1.2M buys in Burke Mountain, Heritage Mountain, Westwood Plateau, Eagle Ridge, Port Moody, and Port Coquitlam — sqft, lot size, build year, and the real trade-offs between them.
Read the comparison
Move-Up Strategy
The $40K tax trap and five other expensive move-up mistakes
April 27, 2026 · 14 min read
Sequencing, capital gains, bridge financing, PTT timing, the 10-year-home rule, and listing-strategy mistakes — with the full transaction-cost stack for a typical Coquitlam move-up.
Read the mistakes
Market Update
Spring 2026 Coquitlam — flat to up 1.4% YoY, DOM varies
April 26, 2026 · 11 min read
A measured-balanced spring market. Inventory up 12% year-over-year. Detached benchmark at $1.81M, +1.4% YoY. By neighbourhood, by property type, with mortgage rate context.
Read the update
For Buyers
The honest answer most realtors won't give you
April 26, 2026 · 12 min read
Five questions that tell you which side of the wait-or-buy line you're on. Why the cost of waiting almost always exceeds the cost of acting in spring 2026. Bank of Canada rate context.
Read the framework
For Sellers
Why your assessment is 6–14% below your home's actual value
April 26, 2026 · 11 min read
The five reasons assessment and market value diverge. Real Coquitlam neighbourhood data showing typical gaps. What it means for sellers, and how to price your home correctly.
Read the analysis
Move-Up Strategy
Bridge financing, subject to sale, and a 5-question framework
April 26, 2026 · 13 min read
When to sell first, when to buy first, and how subject-to-sale offers work in Coquitlam's spring 2026 market. Bridge loan terms, real cost examples, and a decision framework.
Read the guide
For Sellers
28-day average · 14 days for the top 25% · 60+ for the bottom
April 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Real days-on-market data by property type, neighbourhood, and price band. The three controllable factors that separate the fast-sale homes from the ones that sit. Full playbook.
Read the playbook
