Multifamily brokers David and Mark Goodman knew they'd provoke a strong reaction with their April Fool’s gag. That’s why they sought counsel from their lawyer before sending out a faux notice that Vancouver’s City Hall was up for sale and that their firm, HQ Commercial, had been retained as exclusive listing agents for the iconic property, “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to add significantly to the city’s undersupplied rental housing stock” (asking price for the 5.5-acre development site: $895M). But Mark (above right) tells Bisnow he “never could have imagined” the deluge of feedback he ended up receiving (hundreds of emails at last count and several articles in local publications).

Most found the hoax listing—which noted that a new city hall would be built on the municipally owned Langara Golf Course—to be a whimsical jest.

“One of the best April Fool's pieces I have ever seen,” wrote one broker. Another suggested, “Development sites are so hard to find that there may actually be some legs to this don’t you think?" While another quipped, “I have Mainland Chinese investors who will shadow-flip this property in a most prosperous way.”

But some weren’t as impressed. “Didn't really find it funny; kind of wasted my time. Try harder,” read the subject line of one city hall worker’s email reply.