Whether you're selling your home, buying your next one, or doing both at the same time, the strategy behind your move matters. Craig Johnston helps clients protect their equity, avoid costly mistakes, and move forward with clarity across Coquitlam, Port Moody, and Port Coquitlam.
No pressure. No obligation. Just a clearer conversation about your next move.
This isn’t just about choosing a Realtor. It’s about choosing the person who will guide one of the biggest financial decisions of your life with strategy, care, and precision.
Craig Johnston’s edge started before real estate. As an Account Executive for a global hotel brand, he worked with major accounts, built trusted partnerships, and learned how to align people, timing, communication, and outcomes in a way that created long-term value.
As part of the top 1% MACNABS Real Estate Team, Craig brings local authority, strong negotiation, and a relationship-first style to buyers, sellers, and move-up families across the Tri-Cities.
Craig lives on Burke Mountain and has spent decades in the Tri-Cities. He understands how neighbourhoods evolve, where value is created, and how to position your move for long-term success.
This is not a generic consultation. It is a focused conversation built around your goals, your timing, and the smartest path forward.
Craig starts by understanding your goals, concerns, timing, and what needs to happen for the move to make sense.
From pricing and timing to whether selling first or buying first makes sense, Craig helps map out a practical plan.
Clients know where they stand, what to expect next, and why each decision matters.
Craig is thoughtful, proactive, and always looking for the smartest next step that protects your position.
These examples show the kind of thinking that helps Craig’s clients create stronger outcomes in changing markets.
A carefully prepared launch, strong media, and pricing designed to create urgency helped generate quick traction and multiple offers instead of a stale listing cycle.
When clients are buying and selling together, the advice has to account for timing, equity protection, and next-step planning — not just one transaction in isolation.
Strong presentation, sharper positioning, and a cleaner launch plan can completely change how buyers respond in the first days on market.
Want to see what this could look like for your home and next move?
Not everyone is ready to book the call immediately. These are the strongest next clicks for qualified sellers, buyers, and move-up families.
Start with a real valuation, clearer pricing context, and a better sense of what your current home could unlock before you make a major move.
Get Your Home Value + Next-Step PlanPlanning to buy and sell at the same time? Start with the page built to help families understand timing, spread, and next-step strategy.
View the Upsizing StrategyUnderstand the mistakes that cost sellers money and the strategy Craig uses to create momentum, stronger demand, and better outcomes.
Avoid the Costly Seller MistakesThese reviews reflect the same themes again and again: patience, strong communication, real strategy, and outcomes that feel well guided instead of stressful.
“Craig sold our home in only 6 days with multiple offers. We were kept informed constantly and felt guided through every next step.”
“We worked with Craig for over 3 years to find the perfect home. He was endlessly patient, moved fast when the opportunity came, and advocated for us throughout.”
“Craig helped us sell and buy with patience and great communication. The marketing was excellent, the sale created multiple offers, and the purchase side was handled smoothly.”
“Craig absolutely delivered, exceeding expectations. His media, presentation, communication, and negotiation made the sale feel controlled even as the market changed.”
“As first-time buyers, we had countless questions. Craig was organized, patient, never pushy, and made the whole process manageable and enjoyable.”
“His approach is clear and data-driven and resulted in multiple offers for our sale. Overall an excellent experience.”
Strong communication, smart pricing, and a clear plan matter.
Most families focus too much on the total price of the next home. The smarter way to think about moving up is to understand your likely equity, selling costs, commission, mortgage needed on the next home, and what the monthly payment may look like after the move.
This calculator helps you pressure-test the move before it becomes urgent. It gives you a clearer picture of your likely sale position and the size of the gap between where you are now and where you want to go next.
This is meant to give you clarity fast. Once you have the rough numbers, Craig can help refine the real plan around timing, neighbourhoods, and next-step decisions.
Use rough numbers for now. Craig can help refine the strategy with real pricing, actual costs, and market context.
Strong move-up planning is not only about price. It is also about what type of home you are aiming for next, what lifestyle you want, and how much stretch actually makes sense for your family.
Detached
Detached moves usually come with the biggest lifestyle jump, but also the largest gap. This is where sale strategy, equity protection, and neighbourhood selection matter most.
Explore Where to Buy a Detached Home in Coquitlam
Townhouse
Townhomes can create a meaningful jump in function, layout, storage, and daily livability without forcing the same gap as a detached purchase.
See the Best Townhome Move-Up Strategy
Apartment
For many buyers, the first real move-up strategy starts by understanding how much equity a condo or apartment can contribute toward the next home.
See What Your Current Home Can Unlock
Craig’s clients are impressed by his calm presence, strong communication, and the way he goes above and beyond. His service style is shaped by more than 5 years of helping people feel looked after, understood, and well guided.
He is a husband, a father, and deeply tied to the Tri-Cities community. That personal grounding shows up in how he works with families, sellers, first-time buyers, and move-up clients making major decisions.
The result is a client experience that feels prepared, professional, and genuinely supportive from beginning to end.
Craig’s story is rooted in Port Moody, Coquitlam, and the Tri-Cities lifestyle that buyers and sellers already know and value.
Craig is not transactional. He works to build strong, honest, long-term relationships that make clients feel supported.
Too many homeowners start with assumptions. They look at headline prices, automated estimates, or what a neighbour got months ago and assume it applies to them.
Craig helps sellers look at the move the right way: current positioning, likely buyer demand, the best launch strategy, and whether the timing is right to act now or prepare first.
That is why the strongest next step for most sellers is to start with a proper valuation and then move into strategy.
This strategy call is built for serious buyers, sellers, and move-up clients who want useful advice and a clear next step.
Tell Craig what you are trying to figure out and he will help you map the strongest next step.
Most clients leave this call with more clarity — even if they are still months away from making a move.
If you are thinking about selling, buying, or upsizing in Coquitlam, Port Moody, or Port Coquitlam, start with the next step that gives you the most clarity.
Keep moving through the ecosystem. These pages connect directly to the decision you are working on.
I have spent the last 5+ years helping Coquitlam move-up buyers and sellers get from where they are to where they want to be — without the panic of owning two homes at once or selling under value. I work the Tri-Cities every day: Burke Mountain, Westwood Plateau, Heritage Mountain, and the rest of Coquitlam’s move-up neighbourhoods.
If you want a straight read on your timing, pricing, or move-up strategy, the fastest next step is a short call.
The 20-minute call is most useful when you're within one of these four profiles. Match yourself to one — or call and tell me I'm wrong. Either way, you'll leave the call with a number, a sequence, and a decision deadline.
You're in a starter townhome or entry SFH and outgrowing it fast. The Tax Trap (sell-first vs. buy-first vs. bridge) is the call you need to run before you list or tour. We map your exact sequence, stress-test the math, and identify the zone/tier where your equity actually buys you the next home.
You've done the calculators, read the forums, and the numbers keep changing. We translate pre-approval vs. real approval, run your PTT + closing math on a realistic target price, and identify which zone × tier actually matches your financing — before you fall in love with a listing outside it.
You're deciding between off-MLS, pre-market, or standard listing. We run the achieved comps for your exact zone × view × tier, model the 30-60-90 day curve, and identify whether a $15K-$25K staging and photography investment actually returns at your price band.
You're comparing Tri-Cities cap-rate spreads against North Van, West Van, or Burnaby. Or you're relocating to Metro Van and need the zone tutorial, commute reality, and SD43 catchment map before you fly in. We cover both in one call.
No sales pitch. No "let me send you some listings" email. Here's the exact 10-step sequence I run every strategy call through — so you can decide if it's worth 20 minutes before you book.
The callers who get the most out of this do these five things. The ones who don't usually burn the call on questions I could have answered in an email.
"Second baby coming in October" or "lease ends May 31" or "kindergarten registration Jan 30." A dated constraint lets me reverse-engineer the sequence. "Sometime next year" gives me nothing to work with.
Not the bank's "you can afford $1.4M" letter — your real combined-income, debt, down-payment picture. If you have a pre-approval, bring the letter. If not, bring your gross household income and liquid savings.
Even "Burke, Plateau, and maybe Heritage" is enough. I can tell you in 5 minutes whether you've got the right shortlist or whether a zone you haven't considered actually fits better.
Capital gains on the rental. The SD43 catchment. Speculation tax. Bridge financing. The one thing you keep re-reading about but never fully answering. Tell me upfront — I'll address the actual risks, not the imagined ones.
The market update page covers that. Use the 20 minutes on YOUR decision, not on aggregate commentary — otherwise the call is a podcast, not a strategy session.
Most Coquitlam listings are shown by agents who live in Vancouver, North Van, or Surrey. They drive in for appointments. Here's what you trade when you hire a commuter vs. a native.
What decades of living here give you that a glossy listing-agent profile can't fake.
Watched the 2017-2020 build-out, the 2021 spike, and the 2023-2024 reset. Know which streets hold value, which builders over-promised, and why the $1.7M-$1.95M cohort is the current Goldilocks.
The 1990s-built stock has a hard renovation premium cutoff around $1.85M-$2.1M. Know which street grids support the premium and which don't — comes from walking listings, not scrolling MLS.
The Inlet view premium is 15-25%, but only on specific side streets with unobstructed sightlines. I've stood in the backyards — the premium doesn't apply to half the "view listings" on MLS.
Anmore septic regulations, Belcarra designated-use covenants, well testing protocols. If you haven't bought here before, the diligence list is different from the rest of the Tri-Cities.
Suter Brook, Inlet District, Klahanie, Newport Village — each with different HOA dynamics, walkability, and resale pattern. "Port Moody condo" as a single category is a mistake.
Crunch, Buntzen, Diez Vistas, Brewers Row, Belcarra, Sasamat. Not just a list — a weekly rotation. Most buyers under-weight this until their second summer here.
Every money page on this site is what I'd tell you on the call, written out. If you're researching before booking, start with the one that matches your profile.
Eight specific commitments. If I miss any of them, tell me and I'll make it right.
The Tri-Cities moves faster than the commentary suggests. The buyers and sellers who win here are the ones who decided the sequence before they needed it.
The short, honest version. Every answer here is what I'd tell you on a call — no fluff, no generic listing-agent talk.
Most people lose money because they read generic advice and act on it. The pages below are the opposite — Coquitlam-specific, opinionated, and built from real transactions. Pick the lane that fits the move you're actually making.
No hedging. No "it depends." If a page above contradicts what another agent told you, ask them to cite their source — every number on this site is checkable.
The resources below go deeper on the same topic. If you’re piecing together a full picture, these are the next logical reads.
Every claim on this site is checkable against a government, regulator, school district, or independent authority. Cross-reference anything — if a number here ever drifts from the source, the source wins.
External links open in a new tab. The Macnabs is not affiliated with these organizations — they are cited as independent authorities. Any time a number on this page differs from the authority, the authority wins.
Before you book a call, spend ninety seconds with Craig. You’ll know in the first thirty whether he’s the right realtor for your move.
Opens on YouTube. No autoplay. Craig@theMACNABS.com · 604-202-6092
Real reviews pulled from Google. No paid placements. No curated-only-positives. Every client below closed with Craig — most sold over asking, several within a week.
“Craig sold my property in just 6 days. After receiving one offer, he quickly reconnected with all the other realtors who had viewed the property, and before I knew it, we had multiple offers — all over asking price. Craig didn’t stop there; he negotiated even better terms for me.”
“We worked with Craig on three real estate transactions. In all cases he was extremely professional and efficient. In the case of the two sales, both houses were sold for over asking and within the one week of going on market. Craig analyzed the market accurately and advised on a selling price that was fair and saleable.”
“Craig recently sold my townhouse in West Vancouver in less than 6 days for over asking price. Craig is one of the most prolific and highly motivated realtors I have seen in the Realty business, and I have extensive experience buying and selling properties of all sorts.”
“We consider ourselves lucky to be able to work with Craig over the last 5 years, over multiple transactions. He is a professional who is guided by integrity, honesty, and punctuality. Craig is a seasoned and well-informed realtor who will be a great asset on any real estate journey.”
“As first-time home buyers, we had a myriad of concerns. Craig immediately put us at ease by taking the time to address each of our questions thoroughly and patiently. At no point did I feel pressured or rushed into making a decision. Instead, Craig empowered us with all the facts and options.”
“One of the most dedicated and professional realtors I’ve encountered. No matter the value of the property, Craig puts great care into preparing high-quality marketing content. With his in-depth knowledge of the Coquitlam area, I highly recommend Craig to anyone looking to buy or sell.”
“His creativity, top-notch communication skills, and a solid plan were instrumental in selling high and buying low. His foresight in negotiation skills, predicting outcomes before they happened, truly set him apart. A remarkable professional who exceeded expectations.”
“Craig absolutely delivered on his promise of selling my condo, exceeding my expectations. A++ communications and he kept me informed and educated every single step of the way. Rock solid performance and a very quick above asking sale, I am beyond grateful.”
“We were referred to Craig by a friend and knew from day one we were in great hands. The marketing was outstanding — we received seven offers, and Craig held firm on our priorities. When we re-listed in January, it sold in three days at the price we wanted, and he went on to find us an off-market buy in Vernon.”
More on Proof & Process
Craig writes the Tri-Cities coverage most realtors won't. Every page below is built on the same ground-truth data and the same negotiation playbook Craig uses for every client.
You want an operator, not a broker. Craig runs every file through the same five-step protocol — Top 2% Nationwide Team results, zero improvisation at your expense.
You've earned the move. Craig protects the equity while you make it.
Craig teaches the playbook while he runs it.
"The Tri-Cities reward patience and punish improvisation. I don't guess — I run the protocol, every file, no exceptions. That's the promise."
Whether you're a first-time buyer at $850K or a luxury seller at $4.2M, the sequence is identical. The scale changes. The discipline doesn't.
Your numbers, your timeline, your non-negotiables, your trade-offs — written down before we pick any houses or pick any comps.
Current supply, current absorption, current days-on-market, current buyer pool — per neighbourhood, per property type, not 'Metro Vancouver' averages.
Target neighbourhoods, target price band, target timeline, target offer structure. Written. Agreed.
Whether buying or selling, the offer / listing is engineered — structure, contingencies, comps, pricing logic — not improvised.
Conditions, completion, possession, and the six-month check-in. Most agents stop at keys. Craig doesn't.
No pitch, no pressure. Just your numbers, your options, and the next move that's actually right for you.
Because the generic version is what every other Coquitlam realtor publishes. Craig's clients do their homework — this page is the homework.
Book the 20-minute strategy call or start with a home evaluation. Craig reads every submission personally and responds within 24 hours.
A short call (no pitch, no pressure), a written summary of options, and a clear next move that's right for you — even if it's not hiring Craig.
Born in the Tri-Cities. Lived on Burke Mountain for 9+ years. Top 2% Nationwide Team. Craig runs every file — move-up, first-time, seller, investor — through the same repeatable playbook so nothing gets improvised at your expense. Start with the 20-minute fit call or the equity map. No pitch, no pressure, just your numbers and your options.
Every benchmark price, sales ratio, and market signal on this page is drawn from named, publicly-verifiable sources refreshed monthly. I write from a licensed B.C. REALTOR®'s vantage point (license V99960) and tie claims to the reports real buyers, sellers, and appraisers actually rely on.
Greater Vancouver REALTORS® (GVR) — Monthly MLS® HPI benchmark prices, sales volume, days on market, and list-to-sale ratios for Coquitlam, Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, and Anmore.
Statistics Canada 2021 Census plus BC Stats projections — population, household composition, median household income, and tenure splits for every Tri-Cities neighbourhood.
BC Ministry of Finance and Canada Revenue Agency — current Property Transfer Tax exemption thresholds, GST/HST rules on new homes, BC Home Owner Grant amounts, and first-time home buyer programs.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and Bank of Canada — stress-test qualifying rate, posted mortgage rates, insured vs uninsured lending rules, and rental market data for the Vancouver CMA.
SD43 Coquitlam catchment maps plus Fraser Institute annual school report card rankings — used for every school-linked neighbourhood claim.
BC Assessment and BC Land Title & Survey Authority — assessed values, property-type classifications, title registry data, and historical ownership records.
This page is reviewed monthly. Benchmark pricing reflects the most recent GVR HPI release. Census figures are the 2021 Statistics Canada release with BC Stats growth projections. Tax thresholds are current as of the 2026 BC Budget and federal rules in effect at time of publication.
Last reviewed: April 22, 2026 · Written and signed by Craig Johnston, licensed REALTOR® V99960, The Macnabs · Royal LePage Elite West.
