Half Duplex | What it is
Half Duplex or Detached House
On many Vancouver and Burnaby streets these are now the two options at very different prices, and the newly built half duplex often sits on the exact lot the detached house used to occupy.
The short answer
A newly built half duplex puts you on an established street at a fraction of what a detached house on the same street costs, with current construction and a warranty. You give up the whole lot, one wall, and full control of the property. For many buyers that trade is what makes the neighbourhood reachable at all.
Newly built half duplexs on the market
670 active listings
- Median list price
- $1,586,500
- Median price per sq ft
- $876
- Median size
- 1,895 sq ft
- Median strata fee
- $365
- Median annual property tax
- $5,070
typical range $1,148,000 to $2,338,000
typical range $482 to $1,290
typical range 1,435 sq ft to 3,084 sq ft
typical range $109 to $629
43 of 670 listings state one
typical range $2,117 to $8,529
236 of 670 listings state one
Measured across 670 active listings on .
Where these homes are
Click a pin for the photo, the price, and a Street View link.
300 of 670 homes plotted. 355 more have coordinates but were left off to keep the map readable. The ones shown are spread evenly across the price range rather than taken from one end. 15 listings have no coordinates in the feed and cannot be placed. Click a pin for the photo, the price, and a Street View link. Zoom with the plus and minus buttons or by pinching.
Homes behind these numbers
$599,000B 2020 VIEWMOUNT COURT
FVREB Out of Town · 3 bed · 1,648 sq ft
$798,0002485 BECK ROAD
Abbotsford East · 3 bed · 1,609 sq ft
$812,0002473 BECK ROAD
Central Abbotsford · 3 bed · 1,609 sq ft
$859,900
Freehold
8576 DUNBAR WAY
Mission · 4 bed · 2,233 sq ft
$859,900
Freehold
8548 DUNBAR WAY
Mission · 4 bed · 2,233 sq ft
$869,90044720 WILLOWSTREAM ROAD
Lower Landing · 4 bed · 2,306 sq ft
$899,000
Freehold
1 46018 BONNY AVENUE
Chilliwack Proper East · 5 bed · 2,201 sq ft
$899,000
Freehold
32529 HIGGINBOTTOM COURT
Mission · 6 bed · 3,149 sq ft
$899,000
Freehold
32531 HIGGINBOTTOM COURT
Mission · 6 bed · 3,145 sq ft
$899,9003143 E 19 AVENUE
Renfrew Heights · 2 bed · 1,073 sq ft
$899,9002 552 KASLO STREET
Renfrew · 2 bed · 971 sq ft
$899,9001051 CELIA CRESCENT
Gibsons & Area · 3 bed · 1,702 sq ft
658 more active listings are not shown here. Search every active listing . Prices are the list price. Most new homes have GST added on top.
The trade in one sentence
You are buying the street rather than the whole lot. On the west side of Vancouver, in Burnaby, and across the east side, a newly built half duplex is frequently the only way into a neighbourhood where detached houses have moved out of reach.
What you actually give up is land, one shared wall, and unilateral control. What you keep is the location, current building code, a warranty, and no deferred maintenance.
What the shared wall means in practice
It means a party wall, and how it performs depends entirely on how it was built. Newly built homes are constructed to current code, which is meaningfully better on sound separation than the older stock people compare it to.
It also means shared decisions on anything structural: the roof, the envelope, drainage, and often the driveway. Those get agreed with one other household, which works well when both parties are reasonable and is genuinely difficult when they are not.
What you should check that a detached buyer would not
Whether you are buying the front or the back half, because they are different homes with different light, outdoor space, and street exposure.
How the strata is set up between the two owners, and whether the bylaws are ones you could live with for a decade.
Whether any part of the lot is exclusive to one side, particularly parking and outdoor space, and whether that is registered or just how it has been used.
Is this right for you
Works well if
- ✓ The neighbourhood matters more to you than owning the whole lot
- ✓ You want a new home rather than an older house needing work
- ✓ A detached house on that street is genuinely out of reach
Does not work if
- ✕ You want a large private yard, or complete control of the property
- ✕ Shared structural decisions with one neighbour would frustrate you
- ✕ You want the ability to redevelop the lot in future
Check before you offer
- → Front or back half, and what each gets in light, yard, and parking
- → The party wall construction, and what the builder used for sound separation
- → The strata arrangement and bylaws, in full, before removing subjects
- → Whether outdoor space and parking are exclusive use, and registered as such
Read next
Common questions
Is a half duplex worth less than a detached house?
It costs less, which is the point. On resale value this site does not forecast, and you should be sceptical of anything that does. What is measurable today is that a newly built half duplex reaches streets where detached houses cost several times more.
Can I renovate a half duplex freely?
Inside your own unit, mostly yes, subject to the strata bylaws. Anything touching the structure, the roof, the envelope, or the shared wall involves the other owner. Read the bylaws before you plan work, because a two-owner strata gives you no majority to fall back on.
Do half duplexes come with a yard?
Usually some private outdoor space, and typically a good deal less than a detached house on the same lot, since the lot is now carrying two homes. Whether it is exclusively yours or common property is a title question, not something to infer from how it looks.
Where these figures come from
- VanPlex active listings, MLS® data
Active townhouses, half duplexes, and row houses built in the last two years across Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley.
Checked
See the half duplexes on the market
Every figure in this hub comes from listings you can open. Search the full set and filter by price, bedrooms, freehold or strata, pets, parking, and distance to a station.