New Community Listings Across Greater Vancouver

Compare New Community Phases Before You Commit

New community listings sell you a plan as much as a home, so separate what is built, what is approved and what is only illustrated on the marketing board before you sign anything.

Master-planned neighbourhoods in Surrey, Langley, Coquitlam and Burnaby are released in phases, and the park, the plaza and the promised school often belong to a later one. Ask the sales team which phase you are buying into, which amenities are secured through a development agreement with the municipality, and which are aspirational. Then ask what construction sits between your home and the completed picture, because a first-phase buyer lives beside the rest of the build for years.

Walk the site at rush hour. Access roads, transit service and grocery options typically arrive after the homes do, and a new home at the edge of a growing area can carry a longer daily commute than the map suggests.

Read the Disclosure Statement and the Deposit Terms

Presale purchases in British Columbia come with a disclosure statement filed under provincial marketing legislation, and it is the document that matters. Have your lawyer read it for the completion window, the outside date, the developer's right to make changes, and what happens to your deposit if the project is cancelled. Ask where the deposit is held and confirm it sits in trust.

Budget past the purchase price as well. Ask whether goods and services tax applies, what the estimated strata fee is and how it was calculated, and whether the developer controls the strata council during the initial period. Confirm the third-party home warranty certificate, and ask the developer's representative what the finishing allowance covers before you compare one release against another.