Forget whatever illusions remain about affordable detached homes in Vancouver.

Nowadays, buyers are willing to pay more than $500,000 over the listed price of single-family homes.

A good example is 2930 West 28^th Avenue.

Keller Williams Realty VanCentral listed the MacKenzie Heights area home on February 2, 2021 for $2,399,000.

The 80-year-old home with three bedrooms and four baths got a new owner after seven days on the market.

On February 9, a buyer picked up the two-storey home with a basement for $2,950,000.

The selling price was $551,000 over the listed price.

The transaction was tracked by Zealty.ca, a real-estate information site owned and operated by Holywell Properties.

According to the site, the sold price of 2930 West 28^th Avenue was 23 percent more than its listed price.

B.C. Assessment placed the 2021 value of the property as of July 1, 2020 at $2,411,000.

The Straight regularly asks realtor David Hutchinson of Sutton Group-West Coast Realty about what’s happening in the market.

Hutchinson, who has been in the business for two decades, is often sought by media organizations for his observations and insights.

Interestingly, Hutchinson cites a recent deal in which a buyer also paid over $500,000 on top of the listed price.

RE/MAX Select Properties listed 3355 West 12^th Avenue on February 6 for $1,988,000.

The small Kitsilano area home comes with four beds and two baths.

After five days, a buyer picked up the 76-year-old home.

On February 11, the property changed hands for $2,502,850.

This means that the purchase price was $514,850 more than the listed price.

Zealty.ca notes on its site that the sold price was 25.9 percent over its original asking price.

“Representing buyers ain't easy these days,” Hutchinson said.

The long-time realtor noted that buyers find properties that may not be ideal, but look like a “perfect deal”.

“We go see it, consider an offer, and then we realize it's going into multiple-offers,” Hutchinson said.

Buyers give it their best shot, often attaching no conditions to their offer, and then hope for the best.

“One buyer ultimately gets the home. The others are left dissappointed and back on the hunt,” Hutchinson said.

He also noted there are buyers who have been waiting from the sidelines, and ready to make a move once prices go down.

Unfortunately for them, the “bottom fell out, and the market spiraled in the other direction, which was up”.

“With selling prices of over a half-million dollars over asking, the days of any kind of dreamy affordability seem to be gone,” Hutchinson said.

In the deadly world of secret agents, Edward Zhang might be the equivalent of a spy who is not licensed to kill.

In the staid world of real estate agents where Zhang operates in real life, he’s someone who is not licensed to sell.

As of this post Friday (February 19), Zhang is identified as one of the “star agents” of Dracco Pacific Realty.

A button below Zhang’s image on Dracco’s website leads visitors to a personal website called the Edward Zhang Group.

However, he is not currently licensed by the Real Estate Council of B.C.

The RECBC is the body created by the provincial government to regulate real estate practitioners in accordance to the Real Estate Services Act.

Zhang also costars with Dracco founder and well-known realtor Layla Yang in a new reality series titled Agent Unbreakable.

The RECBC’s website provides consumers the ability to search for licensed realtors.

Zhang’s name cannot be found.

The RECBC did not make a spokesperson available for an interview when the Straight asked about Zhang.

Instead, the council issued a statement Thursday (February 18) stating that its records “confirm that Edward Zhang is not currently licensed”.

According to RECBC, Zhang’s licence expired in 2020.

“Our compliance team is aware of this fact, as well as recent reports related to Agent Unbreakable, and is reviewing the matter,” the council stated.

The Straight sought Zhang for comment.

“Why does it matter?” Zhang said in a phone interview Thursday (February 18).

He was asked about why he is still being identified on the Dracco website as a realtor and the same in a media release for Agent Unbreakable.

“It’s for entertainment purposes,” he said.

The Real Estate Act provides that a person “must not provide real estate services…for or in expectation of remuneration, unless the person is…licensed”.

“I just decided to take a break,” Zhang said.

The legislation also states that a brokerage must have a managing broker.

The said managing broker is responsible for the “conduct of the brokerage's real estate business, including supervision of the associate brokers and representatives who are licensed in relation to the brokerage”.

Dracco’s managing partner is Tim Xu.

Xu, Yang, and Zhang are the top three “star agents” on the Dracco website.

The three also go back a number of years ago as colleagues with Maxcel WestCoast Realty.

Yang cofounded Maxcel with two other realtors, and the partners eventually parted bitterly.

Legal action followed the breakup.

Maxcel accused Yang, Xu, Zhang, and Yang’s sister of allegedly sabotaging its business.

Going back to Zhang, the “star agent” told the Straight by phone that he was “still a realtor” when shooting started for Agent Unbreakable.

“Now I’m moving on to doing bigger business, but also in the real estate,” Zhang said.

“It’s going to be announced in the season of the show,” he continued. “So just wait for it. Something good is really coming.”

According to Zhang, he decided not to renew his licence.

“I have a managing broker licence, so that means I have five years,” he said. “Anytime I want to reactivate it, I can reactivate it.”

Zhang expressed surprise that his Edward Zhang Group site remains online.

“Once the show comes out,” he said, referring to Agent Unbreakable, “everything’s going to be in the clear.”

According to Zhang, there’s “something new” that he is currently on.

“Real estate is a pretty tough business,” he said.

Told that reports indicate record highs for business in 2020, Zhang disagrees.

“No, not really. The market was spare last year. This year, the market is really good,” he said.

And so until Zhang reactivates his licence, he might as well be considered as a sleeper agent.

(This story is sponsored by Cansoft Technologies.)

The relationship between a tenant and their building manager or landlord is crucial to both parties’ overall wellbeing. There’s truly nothing worse than your landlord popping by unannounced at 9 a.m. while you’re sipping coffee in your terrycloth robe.

Without clear and documented communication, the landlord and tenant affiliation can easily become strained. And due to Vancouver’s expensive real estate market, more and more households are choosing to rent instead of own.

This is why Canada-based software development and SEO company, Cansoft Technologies, developed the Tenants app. The communication technology platform will be launching both an iOS and Android version later this year.

“During this pandemic, we’ve experienced many difficulties surrounding communication, management, and resource utilization,” says Kazi Mamun, CEO of Cansoft Technologies. “As a tech company, when we looked into real estate we noticed several challenges that could be resolved by one single application. We developed the Tenants app to make tenancy and tenancy-related business easier.”

The app is an innovative property management system for landlords and building managers, which also functions as a simple communication platform for tenants. The straightforward chat function is exceedingly convenient during these unprecedented times as people are being encouraged to limit their in-person contact with others.

Because of the Tenants app, landlords no longer need to visit the property when a renter’s laundry machine stops working—videos and images can also be sent through the platform.

The Tenants app helps building managers and landlords manage their properties more effectively by:

• facilitating better communication with tenants;
• sending push notifications to tenants when rent is due or maintenance is required;
• managing calendars and appointments;
• performing fast and easy background checks;
• and storing important documents and information.

Building managers are often responsible for several rental units depending on the size of the apartment or condominium. This can make it difficult for them to stay on top of renter payments and requests in an organized fashion. The communication platform assists landlords and managers with all the aspects of overseeing both residential and commercial properties.

But most importantly, the user-friendly app allows all three parties to accomplish what is most important to themselves and to each other.

Individual tenants are able to pay their rent through the app each month and access the important rental documents when needed. This includes the lease and other signed contracts. Through the app, tenants can easily chat and schedule appointments with their building manager if needed. Instead of relying on the leaflets taped onto the elevator walls, tenants can view building rule changes or updates on the app.

“Cansoft Technologies listened to the critical stakeholders and developed a revolutionary mobile application that can address the essential concerns of each,” says Mamun. “The Tenants app provides all necessary parties with effectiveness, efficiency, and organization.”

For more information on the Tenants app, visit www.tenants.app/.

Click here to learn more about Cansoft Technologies, headquartered in Vancouver.