A listing is new only once. Buyers with a saved search for the area see it the day it goes live, and they compare it with everything else they’ve toured. I’m Megan Stiles, a REALTOR® with The Donum Group at Oakwyn Realty. Before real estate I worked in marketing, and this is the plan I’d use to launch a home in a new Vancouver multiplex.
The short version: finish the home, price it right on day one, and answer every question a buyer has before they ask it.
What happens to the homes that miss the first week
VanPlex looked at every new multiplex home for sale in the City of Vancouver on November 5, 2026: half duplex and townhouse listings built in 2024 or later, in developments of 3 to 6 homes. There were 179.
40 of them had been on their current listing for more than 90 days. 23 were asking less than the price they first listed at. Those counts only see the current listing, so a home that was taken off the market and listed again shows up as new.
A late price cut has a second cost: buyers who saw the first price will ask why it dropped. I’d rather spend the effort before the launch, so the first price is the right one.
Finish the home before the photos
Buyers of a new multiplex home are paying for a new home, and photos of a finished, staged home show them one. A ladder in the corner of a photo works against that.
If the home isn’t finished, say so plainly in the listing and show what is done. But my strong preference is to wait. A week of waiting costs less than months of photos that make the home look half-built.
What I make sure we have before day one:
- photos of every room, plus the front entry, the yard or patio, and the parking
- a floor plan with room sizes, so buyers can see how the home works on each level
- a short film that walks from the front door through each floor
- a photo of the street, because in a multiplex the location is part of the product
A front door at street level is one thing a multiplex home has that a condo doesn’t. Show it.
Price it against the new homes buyers are touring
Your buyer compares your home with the other new multiplex homes they’ve seen that month, and with new condos.
So set the price from the homes that compete with it: new multiplex homes nearby with similar bedrooms and floor area. Divide each asking price by its floor area and see where yours sits. VanPlex shows that price per square foot for each listing on its multiplex-for-sale page, set against other homes in the same city.
If you have more than one home in the building, plan the order. Listing all of them on the same day puts them against each other on the same search page. Listing the most finished one first gives the others a price to point to.
Answer the questions on the listing
Morgan Browne found that 107 of those 179 listings showed no monthly strata fee in her comparison of condos and multiplex homes. A blank fee gives the buyer one more question, and some will move on to the next listing instead of asking.
The developer already has most of the answers in writing. Under the Strata Property Act, the developer must give each buyer the interim budget before they sign (s.13). So have it ready on day one, and put the monthly figure on the listing.
Here is what I put in the listing or in the package we hand out at showings:
| Buyer’s question | Where the answer comes from |
|---|---|
| What is the monthly strata fee? | The interim budget (s.13) |
| Which yard, patio and parking are mine? | The strata plan |
| Can I rent it out or keep a dog? | The bylaws |
| Who is the warranty provider? | The home warranty policy |
| When does the warranty start? | First occupancy or transfer of title, whichever is first |
Buyers can look up the home’s warranty and builder licence themselves on BC Housing’s New Homes Registry. I’d rather they find the same answer we already gave them.
The first week, day by day
- Two weeks before: finish the home, stage it, and shoot the photos, floor plan and film.
- One week before: gather the strata plan, the interim budget, the bylaws and the warranty details into one package.
- Day 1: go live with every photo, the floor plan and the monthly fee on the listing.
- The first weekend: hold the open house. In a strata, a bylaw can set where signs go and when open houses happen, but it can’t ban them or unreasonably restrict them (s.122).
- Day 7: look at the number of showings and what buyers said. If people came and nobody wrote an offer, the feedback tells you whether it’s the price or the home.
Most of the work is in the two weeks before the listing goes live. The first week shows you whether that work was done well.
One rule for buildings of 5 or more homes
If the strata has 5 or more strata lots, BC’s Real Estate Development Marketing Act applies. The developer can’t market a home until it has prepared a disclosure statement and filed it with the Superintendent of Real Estate (s.14). A buyer can cancel the contract by written notice within 7 days after signing it or after confirming they had a chance to read the statement, whichever is later (s.21). A fourplex is under that threshold. VanPlex explains the 5-unit rule in more detail.
For a sixplex, the disclosure statement is part of the launch. It has to be filed before any marketing starts, so start it early.
What I’d check before launch day
- Is the home finished, staged and photographed?
- Is the price set against new multiplex homes nearby, per square foot?
- Is the monthly strata fee on the listing?
- Are the strata plan, interim budget, bylaws and warranty details in one package?
- Is the first open house booked?
- For 5 or more homes, is the disclosure statement filed?
If you’re a builder getting ready to sell homes in a new multiplex, my team at The Donum Group can help with the launch. VanPlex’s guide to selling multiplex units covers deposits, tax and warranty duties.
Megan Stiles, REALTOR® | Oakwyn Realty | The Donum Group
