Metro Vancouver’s price per square foot most expensive in Canada

Metro Vancouver is home to eight of the top 10 most expensive places to buy a home in Canada, if you’re looking at price per square foot.

The latest numbers released by real estate company Century 21 show Vancouver’s West Side, downtown Vancouver, and West Vancouver are the most expensive places to buy in the country.

According to Century 21, a detached home in the West Side fetches $1,161 per square foot.

However, the real estate group explains those numbers stayed relatively stable over the last six months, rising modestly.

“Though BC prices were stable overall for the first two-quarters of 2024 several Metro Vancouver suburbs saw price increases while Vancouver condo prices fell modestly, anecdotally due to families continuing to migrate from the city core to more affordable markets that offer more space,” the report stated.

“Vancouver east side houses went up almost 18 per cent in price to $977 per square foot, a rebound from a price decrease last year and well below the price per square foot of west side and downtown properties. West Vancouver, North Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Delta, White Rock/South Surrey all saw increases this year as well – most of them modest, and a rebound from last year’s declines. Fraser Valley prices were stable,” the agency continued.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the list is Saint John, New Brunswick. A detached home in that city fetches just $186 per square foot — just over 16 per cent of what Vancouver commands.

In terms of what happens for the rest of the year, Century 21 says interest rates will likely be a major determining factor. The Bank of Canada is slated to provide an update on rates Wednesday.

“Sellers may hold off on putting their homes on the market in response to a hesitant buyer base waiting for interest rates to fall,” the agency explained.