If you’ve been a reader of the Westender for any length of time, chances are you’ve noticed his real estate advertisements. They’re full colour, they feature his name and face prominently, and such turns of phrase as “rarely available!”, “unbelievable but true!”, “like living in a tree house!”, and my favourite, “whisper-quiet”.
Sometimes, the ads feature shout-outs and tributes to family members, or photos of his cats, or his all-time favourite musician, Aretha Franklin.
He claims he was even the first to publically point the finger, in his ad, at the infamous Beach Avenue tree poisoner of 2004, who was trying to increase the value of her suite by killing the trees that blocked the view. She eventually paid the park board $50,000 to replace the trees.
His ad also features the bold statement: “I work nowhere but the West End, and no one knows it better.”
Meet Rob Joyce, West End real estate agent. Joyce has published his colourful, quirky, and occasionally crime-crusading real estate ads in the Westender every week for a record 27 years. He’s never missed an issue. Long before I was a writer for the Westender, I was a reader, and Rob Joyce’s audacious real estate ads fascinated me, percolating into a years-long mix of curiosity and admiration.
I’ll admit to outright stealing his loquacious ad copy for my own Craig’s List ads: “RARELY AVAILABLE, WHISPER-QUIET… TOASTER OVEN!” Works (almost) every time.
So who IS this guy? When the editor of this paper told me that we were doing a West End-focused issue, I knew it was my chance to find out.
“I’m from Corner Brook, Newfoundland,” says Joyce in a calm tone over the phone in a recent interview. “In the 1970s, a friend of mine moved out to Vancouver and sent a letter back. He described it as a paradise. I arrived on January 4th, 1975. Even in the winter, it was beautiful. The people were so friendly. The ’70s was a golden age for Vancouver, which back then was a small town wrapped up in a big city. I moved to the West End and I’ve never lived anywhere else.”
Before his real estate career, Joyce was a West End community activist, involving himself in the gay liberation movement, the NDP, and welfare action rights. “I’ve always been out,” he says, referring to his sexuality.
Joyce’s day job in the early ’80s was a job counselor for the young prostitutes who used to line Davie Street between Thurlow and Burrard. “I’d try to get them off the street and into stable employment,” Joyce remembers proudly.
Later, Joyce was the vice-president of the West End Community Centre. He says he helped change the centre’s policy, which opened the doors to allow street people and the mentally ill use of the facilities, and he brought in the Food Bank.
In the late 1980s, Joyce created Q Magazine for the gay community, which lasted years. Then came real estate. Joyce recalls needing to be convinced to attend a real estate seminar at the insistence of Roger Ross, who later became his business partner.
“I wanted nothing to do with it,” states Joyce. “I didn’t want to be a realtor, I didn’t respect those people.” Nonetheless, the course instructor liked Joyce’s blunt honesty and encouraged him to get his licence. Joyce sold seven West End condos in his first three months. His secret? He heavily featured ocean views in the ads.
Almost three decades later, he still does. One of Joyce’s favourite phrases is “blue water”. “If there’s a view, buyers need to see blue water. They’ll spend three minutes looking at a suite but hours looking at online photos, and if there’s a view of blue water, that sticks. The West End is one of the most beautiful places in the world to live.”
He’s also never quite seen a condo market like 2017. “It’s off the charts,” he states, almost with a sigh. “The off-shore buyers are snapping up any suite they can buy and rent out. There’s lineups and multiple offers for every listing.”
Joyce has advice for both West End sellers and buyers: “If you’re selling, you better have a new place already lined up, otherwise you can’t get back into the market. If you’re buying, don’t wait, just buy, because prices keep going up.”
Oh, and those Aretha Franklin mentions in the ads? “I’ve seen her over 20 times and met her backstage. I mention her birthday in my ad every year. It shows who I am and what I like. People like personality.” And blue water.
