A Burnaby, B.C., multi-family development site has sold for $6 million through a court sale after receiving unexpected late demand and exceeding the offer price.

A B.C. numbered company agreed to purchase the property located in the Edmonds area from lender Desjardins.

“What began as a regular day in court for the approval of a $4.6M offer turned into a rare, two-round sealed bid process in front of the judge – something seldom seen in court proceedings,” wrote Goodman Commercial Founder Mark Goodman in a LinkedIn post.

The transaction is slated to close Thursday, one week after Desjardins agreed to the terms in court. The short closing period was a factor in Desjardins’ decision to accept the offer, Megan Johal, a Goodman Commercial principal, told Connect.

Johal co-ordinated the marketing and brokering process on behalf of Desjardins, which had initiated foreclosure proceedings. She said the final price was not the highest bid, but Desjardins chose it because the deal could be completed quickly.

The $6-million price marked a 30%, or $1.4-million, increase from an original bid of $4.6 million that the parties from Kyle Park Development. But the final price was well below the original list price of $13 million set in fall 2025 after Goodman Commercial was assigned to market the property.

“Over the course of those months, we’ve done staged reductions,” said Johal. “That’s been very strategic and an important part of our process here.

“It’s a matter of letting the market speak when it comes to pricing, and in this case, the market certainly did speak. It’s interesting to show up for a court date for a contract for approval and have so many groups show up with bids in hand. It just goes to show you the process that was executed on behalf of Desjardins and that competitive nature that came out from these [prospective] purchasers.”

Six parties came to court to demonstrate their interest in acquiring the site; as a result, two bidding rounds occurred in court.

“It was sealed bids, not bidding in the courtroom,” said Johal. “It wasn’t a live bid by any means, but it was sealed-bid process that was done in the courtroom. As soon as we have a firm deal in hand for a court-ordered mandate.”, it’s not pens down for us, we continue working as the listing agents. Prior to the court date coming on, we had reached out to all the interested parties. We made sure everyone knew exactly, if they were interested, what the price was to beat, what the completion time was to beat, and where to show up with their bid. We had to inform them of the process.

“We were anticipating three or four groups coming, but to have six groups come, and [Kyle Park] was the original bidder. [They] had actually had a backup bid in case he was outbid, which [they were], ultimately. Again, it goes back to the process and how important it is to price sharply. Sharp pricing, it isn’t about underselling.

“It’s about creating urgency and maximizing exposure. Case in point with what happened last Thursday, we did maximize exposure, and ultimately, it was a great result for Desjardins.”

The sealed bids were first reviewed by the judge and then Desjardins, which had its request for a second bidding round approved.

“Because of the level of interest on the first round, the lawyer for the borrower wanted to ensure that there was no money left on the table, and they advocated for there to be a second round and the judge agreed to that,” said Johal.

While the result was beneficial to Desjardins, it’s hard to say that a good outcome was achieved because it left many other people, namely contractors and suppliers who were unsecured creditor “under water,” because they will not be able to collect fully on previous owner Square Nine’s unpaid bills, said Johal.

“We saw the price move from $4.6 million to $6 million in real time within a matter of hours, and that’s a significant uplift for the client,” said Johal. “So, in that regard, we do deem what happened last Thursday as a success on behalf of our client.”

But she noted: “Not everyone is being made whole and we need to be cognizant of that.”

It remains to be seen who the successful bidder will develop the site if the deal closes as expected.

The $6-million purchase price was well below Square Nine’s debt of $13.5 million.

In this case, said Johal, the court process did exactly what it was designed to do: Ensure the best possible outcome for the stakeholders, noting that a 30% increase from the original bid is rare.

Goodman Commercial has marketed several properties as part of court sales in recent months. Johal predicted that court-ordered sale processes will increase into 2027.

“Just the nature of what’s happening with development land sites right now, everything is on pause,” she said. “Going back to what everyone has been talking about for a number of months and even going on years now, the layers of policy, complicating matters, the red tape on getting development applications through, everyone’s had to hit the pause button, and that is extremely expensive for developers.”

As a result, developers have not been able to do what they intended to do when they purchased a property: To build a development.

“Now, we have lenders and receivers taking over and needing to liquidate these sites,” she said.

Pictured: Development site in Burnaby, B.C., that recently underwent a sealed bidding process in court.

Rendering: Courtesy of Goodman Commercial