Homes With Granite Counters in Greater Vancouver

Inspect Granite Counters Before You Book the Showing

Granite Counters in Greater Vancouver kitchens are compared on the slab and seam layout, the edge condition and the sealing history — look at all three in person before you let an MLS® listing photograph decide your shortlist.

Stone photographs beautifully and ages unevenly. Run your hand along every seam, because a badly matched joint at the sink or the corner is the tell that the counter was fitted to a budget rather than to the room. Check the overhang at the breakfast bar for chips, and look underneath at the support, which is where a heavy slab either has enough bracing or does not.

Check the Seams, the Edges and the Sealing

Granite is porous and needs sealing. Ask the listing agent when it was last done, and look for dark rings near the range and the coffee maker where oil has soaked in. A stained slab can sometimes be drawn out and resealed, but a cracked one near the sink cutout is a replacement, and that is a kitchen-sized cost rather than a weekend.

Check the undermount sink while you are there. The clips or rails holding it should be intact, and any movement means water has been getting into the cabinet below. Open the doors and look at the base of the carcass and the millwork for swelling.

Weigh Granite Counters Against the Rest of the Kitchen

A stone counter is the cheapest way to make a tired but spacious room read as a gourmet kitchen in listing photographs, so treat it as one line item rather than proof that the whole room was done. Look at the cabinets, the layout and whether the stainless steel appliances match the age of the counter. Where an owner chose to renovate properly, the floor, the lighting and the ceiling usually show it too.

Then price it against the neighbourhood. Homes for sale in West Vancouver and downtown Vancouver carry stone as a baseline expectation, while elsewhere it still reads as an upgrade. Attend an open house in both and compare recent Greater Vancouver REALTORS® sales and Fraser Valley listings before you decide what the counters are worth on this real estate board.