Burke Mountain

Burke Mountain is the newest part of Coquitlam, in the far north of the city, and the place to look if modern construction matters more to you than location. Most of the housing stock is under about fifteen years old, which means current building practice, current insulation and efficiency standards, and systems that are nowhere near end of life.

What you trade for that is distance and density. Burke Mountain is the longest commute in Coquitlam, the streets are steep, and the lots are narrower than in the older parts of the city.

The housing

The dominant form is a three-storey house of roughly 1,400 to 1,600 square feet: bedrooms on the top floor, kitchen and living space on the middle floor, and a double tandem garage with the entry at grade. There is also a substantial and growing townhouse market. Trail access is excellent, and the area is still actively building out, so new supply continues to arrive.

What to check before you buy here

• Whether the three-storey plan suits your household. Stairs are unavoidable in this form. Walk them before you fall for the finishes, and think about the next ten years rather than today.
• Tandem garages and parking. A double tandem is two cars in a line, not side by side. On narrow frontages, street parking for visitors can be tight.
• School catchment capacity. In the fastest-growing part of the city, being in a catchment does not always mean a seat at the nearest school. Confirm current placement with School District 43 rather than assuming.
• Slope and drainage. Perimeter drains, grading and retaining structures deserve real attention on sloped lots. Water management is the recurring issue. Newer construction does not exempt a steep lot from water management questions.
• What is still to be built nearby. Burke Mountain is unfinished. Check what is approved around you before you buy a view or a quiet street.

Thinking about buying or selling on Burke Mountain?

Kristy Mattiazzo works throughout Coquitlam and the Tri-Cities. Get in touch to talk through whether this is the right pocket for you, or to find out what your home here is worth in the current market.

For the full picture of how Kristy works with buyers and sellers across the city — her process, her staging background and the questions she gets asked most — see her Coquitlam Realtor page.