East Vancouver home's $1M listing price could 'cause a riot,' realtor says
The unusually low listing price for a detached home in East Vancouver that features both a basement suite and laneway house is raising eyebrows online.
The six-bedroom, six-bathroom property on Fleming Street is being advertised for just $1 million – something local realtor Jimmy Ly said would likely attract a frenzy of desperate prospective homeowners.
"What the sellers are doing to this house is going to cause a riot," Ly said in a viral TikTok video.
"Like I understand listing below market value, but this?"
The property is located in the Kensington-Cedar Cottage neighbourhood in East Vancouver, where the benchmark price of a detached home was $1.74 million last month, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.
That benchmark is just below the home's appraised value, as of the most recent assessment.
The listing, which was posted last week by YVR International Realty, promises "high rental income and cash flow" between the basement unit and laneway house.
It also boasts some unique bells and whistles, including an eye-catching mural on the front of the property from local artist Juan Pablo Zamudio Cazares.
In another TikTok video, Ly suggested listing the home at $1 million could contribute to what he sees as an erosion in the public's trust in realtors.
"My problem with this is that it wastes so much of people's time and it gives us realtors – who already have a bad rep with the public – an even worse reputation," Ly said.
"At this point, they might as well list it at 100K, 500K, doesn't even matter."
Speaking to CTV News on Thursday, Ly stressed that he didn't post the videos to criticize a particular realtor, but to highlight what he believes is an issue within the industry.
"This type of practice creates kind of a false narrative about the real estate market's prices, and it really leaves buyers disheartened, disappointed – hopeless, really," he said.
Based on his experience, he estimated the property could easily sell for double the listing price.
"If I were to buy it, hypothetically, I would pay $2 million," Ly added.
The realtor from YVR International Realty who represents the listing declined an interview with CTV News, but said the property attracted more than 200 groups at an open house last weekend.
While real estate prices in B.C.'s Lower Mainland remain high, the market has been cooling over recent months following a series of interest hikes from the Bank of Canada.
Home sales in the Vancouver area last month were down 9.8 per cent from August, and down a whopping 46 per cent compared to September 2021.
Compared to the 10-year average for the month, they were down 37.5 per cent.
The benchmark price for all types of property was around $1.16 million, which represents an 8.5 per cent decline over the past six months, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Lisa Steacy
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING | Han Dong resigns from Liberal caucus amid foreign interference allegations
Han Dong has announced he will be sitting as an independent MP after being the subject of foreign interference allegations.

Former prime minister Stephen Harper says Canada needs a 'Conservative renaissance'
Canada needs a 'Conservative renaissance,' former prime minister Stephen Harper said Wednesday, but he cautioned that Pierre Poilievre should wait until an election before telling Canadians how he might run the country.
Biden is coming to Canada: Here's what we know about his visit
U.S. President Joe Biden is coming to Canada Thursday evening, kicking off his short but long-awaited overnight official visit to Canada. Here's what CTV News has confirmed about what will be on the agenda, and what key players are saying about the upcoming visit.
Canada's relationship with the U.S. needed rebuilding post-Trump says Ambassador Hillman
Canada's Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman says the country’s relationship with its American counterparts required rebuilding after the Trump administration.
WeightWatchers appears set to close dozens of Canadian locations Sunday
WW International appears set to close dozens of its roughly 118 WeightWatchers locations across Canada on March 26 in what may be part of a restructuring strategy.
BREAKING | Police find 2 more bodies at site of Old Montreal fire
The death toll from last week's massive fire in Old Montreal has risen to four, Montreal police confirmed Wednesday evening. Julien Levesque, a police spokesperson, said a third and fourth bodies have been retrieved from the building. They will be sent to a laboratory to be formally identified.
Top 4 quirky consumer complaints received in 2022: BBB
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) says it receives tens of thousands of complaints from consumers across Canada each year, but once in a while a "quirky" one will take them by surprise.
What are the predictions for Canada's real estate market this spring?
The Canadian real estate market has been sluggish since last year, when prospective buyers started putting off plans to purchase homes as the Bank of Canada aggressively hiked interest rates eight consecutive times. But realtors see many edging toward a purchase once more.
More than half of Canadians OK with telling lies to spare others’ feelings: Poll
According to a new poll conducted by Research Co., more than half of Canadians surveyed said it is permissible to lie to spare someone’s feelings.