Question 1

How do you set the first list price on a home?

Accepted Answer

From what actually sold, not from what’s listed. I look at what sold in the last 30 to 60 days and price to that. Don’t test and don’t hope: price to the market from day one.

Question 2

Is my BC Assessment what my home is worth?

Accepted Answer

No, and it’s one of my biggest pet peeves. Assessments are built on computers from sales of similar homes, and nobody walks through yours, so they don’t know about your mountain views, a south-facing backyard or the renovation you did. Say two condos sit side by side with the same view, one original and one with a $500,000 renovation: if the size and bedroom count match, the assessment can be the same.

Question 3

Why does my assessment feel out of date?

Accepted Answer

Because it is. BC Assessment values your home as of July 1, so when the notices come out around the new year they’re already six months old, and if you’re selling in the spring or early summer the number can be a year old. Assessments exist to give the province a framework for property tax, not to price your home.

Question 4

Is the assessment ever useful when pricing?

Accepted Answer

Sometimes, as a pattern. If similar homes in one pocket are all selling a hair over their assessments, that helps me explain a price, and on a new type of home or a very high-end one with no comparable sales at all, I’ll use it as a rough benchmark. But it’s never the first number I go to. Sold prices come first.

Question 5

What if I price just a little high?

Accepted Answer

Your home is going to sit. It doesn’t have to be grossly high: go a little over what the market thinks it’s worth and buyers won’t be inclined to offer, because there’s more inventory coming up underneath you that’s priced better. In a falling market the cost isn’t a few weeks without an offer, it’s chasing the market down while you pile up carrying costs and the stigma of a stale listing.

Question 6

Can I price off what a neighbour sold for a couple of years ago?

Accepted Answer

I wouldn’t. Price to what’s closing right now, not to the comp you remember from 2022, and look at what your competition sold for rather than what it’s asking. When this many homes are sitting, the comps everyone remembers aren’t telling you the truth anymore.

Question 7

What are buyers comparing my home to?

Accepted Answer

The handful of other homes in your price range, lined up side by side, and they can see how long each one has been sitting. Most buyers also think in monthly payments more than price: whether a home is $300,000 or $3 million, they look at what it costs them each month. So you’re priced against the other listings and against their pre-approval, not against what you need.

Question 8

I bought in the last few years. Can I price to get my money back?

Accepted Answer

Probably not, and you’re far from alone. In June 2025, five of my seven listings were sellers who had bought within the past five years and weren’t in a great position. Buyers have so much choice that they’ll move on to the second or third home on their list rather than pay for your purchase price.

Question 9

A unit in my building just sold cheap. Does that affect my price?

Accepted Answer

It can, a lot. A fire sale sets the precedent: once owners start selling low, it resets the price per square foot and the rest of the building starts to sit. I’ve sold in a downtown tower after speculators there had to fire sell, and I was pricing well below everyone else in the area because that precedent was set.

Question 10

My condo has no parking or storage locker. How much does that hurt?

Accepted Answer

It’s one of the biggest things stopping buyers. With this much inventory, a buyer who likes your unit but sees no parking or locker can simply move on to one that has both. The condos without them are the ones that sit, so price with that in mind.

Pricing your home in Vancouver