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
Officials: 2 dead, 5 missing in chocolate factory explosion
An explosion at a chocolate factory in Pennsylvania on Friday killed two people and left five people missing, authorities said. One person was pulled from the rubble overnight.

Canadians view own country favourably but many unsure about Canada's system of government: survey
A recent study by the Angus Reid Institute found Canadians view their country more positively than Americans do, but only a slight majority of people in Canada believe their system of government is good.
Putin says Russia will station tactical nukes in Belarus
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced plans on Saturday to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, a warning to the West as it steps up military support for Ukraine.
Russia 'largely stalled' in Bakhmut, shifting focus, U.K. says
The top commander of Ukraine's military said Saturday that his forces were pushing back against Russian troops in the long and grinding battle for the town of Bakhmut, and British military intelligence says Russia appears to be moving to a defensive strategy in eastern Ukraine.
Trump rallying supporters in Waco ahead of possible charges
Staring down a possible indictment, a defiant Donald Trump is hoping to put on a show of force Saturday at the first rally of his 2024 presidential campaign, in a city made famous by deadly resistance against law enforcement.
'Everything is interwoven': Trudeau and Biden vow continued Canada-U.S. collaboration during historic visit
U.S President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have announced updates on a number of cross-border issues, after a day of meetings on Parliament Hill.
Asylum seeker deal between U.S. and Canada won't stop drama at border, advocates say
The new asylum seeker agreement between Canada and the United States will not deter migrants from trying to cross into Canada outside official ports of entry, Quebec immigration advocacy groups say.
U.S. President Joe Biden given Maritime-made Peace by Chocolate bar during visit to Ottawa
U.S. President Joe Biden was given a Maritime-made sweet treat during his visit to Ottawa on Friday.
Scientists say they've solved the mystery of cigar-shaped comet 'Oumuamua
Scientists now say they know outerspace object ‘Oumuamua is, and the answer is more simple than some previous theories have suggested.