What Drives the Price | Freehold Premium
Do freehold homes cost more than strata
No strata fee, no strata council, no shared property. Buyers assume that commands a premium. The measured answer is more interesting than a simple yes, because the two groups are not built in the same places.
The short answer
244 of the 1,394 active newly built ground-oriented homes are freehold with no strata, and 1,140 are strata. The freehold homes list at a median of $1,388,000 and $695 per square foot, against $1,326,900 and $845 for strata. The freehold homes are also markedly larger.
- Freehold listings
- 244
- Strata listings
- 1,140
- Freehold per sq ft
- $695
- Strata per sq ft
- $845
The two groups side by side
| Freehold, no strata | Strata | |
|---|---|---|
| Active listings | 244 | 1,140 |
| Median list price | $1,388,000 | $1,326,900 |
| Median per sq ft | $695 | $845 |
| Median size | 2,010 sq ft | 1,546 sq ft |
| Monthly strata fee | None | $369 median, from 633 listings that state one |
| Who pays for the roof | You, in full, when it needs doing | The contingency reserve fund, built up from the monthly fee |
| Rules on pets and rentals | Yours to decide | Set by the strata bylaws, which can change by vote |
| Four bedrooms or more | 161 | 422 |
Why the headline number misleads
Freehold ground-oriented homes are not distributed like strata ones. They cluster in Abbotsford, Mission, Surrey, and the eastern suburbs, where land is cheap enough for a builder to sell without a strata. Strata homes cluster in Vancouver, Burnaby, and Richmond, where it is not.
So the regional comparison is measuring two different geographies as much as it is measuring two different tenures. The city table below is the honest version: compare freehold against strata inside one city, where the land cost is roughly the same for both.
Freehold against strata, inside the same city
Only cities with at least four active listings of each kind. The main columns are the freehold homes. The last column is the strata price per square foot in the same city, for direct comparison.
| City | Active | Median price | Per sq ft | Median size | Strata per sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vancouver | 65 | $1,748,000 | $1,095 | 1,568 | $1,145 |
| Surrey | 41 | $1,299,900 | $502 | 2,856 | $575 |
| Burnaby | 32 | $1,624,450 | $796 | 1,990 | $672 |
| Richmond | 13 | $1,620,000 | $975 | 1,628 | $900 |
| Coquitlam | 4 | $929,900 to $1,099,900 | $584 to $783 | 1,631 | $770 |
| Langley | 28 | $1,215,000 | $495 | 2,449 | $590 |
| Abbotsford | 13 | $1,059,000 | $508 | 2,085 | $504 |
| Mission | 15 | $999,000 | $341 | 3,145 | $464 |
| Delta | 9 | $1,388,800 | $541 | 2,413 | $601 |
| Pemberton | 9 | $1,099,000 | $785 | 1,400 | $795 |
| Port Coquitlam | 5 | $1,099,000 to $1,165,000 | $695 to $714 | 1,552 | $663 |
A dash means fewer than four active listings, which is too few to publish a figure for. Rows with four to seven listings show a range instead of a median.
Where the freehold homes actually are
This map is the argument the page has been making. Freehold ground-oriented homes cluster in the eastern suburbs and the Fraser Valley, which is why comparing them to strata homes region-wide compares two geographies as much as two tenures.
223 of 244 homes plotted. 21 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.
Freehold homes with no strata
$848,000
Freehold
2465 BECK ROAD
Abbotsford East · 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
$864,000
Freehold
2461 BECK ROAD
Abbotsford East · 3 bed · 1,609 sq ft
$864,999
Freehold
9 10527 155 STREET
Guildford · 3 bed · 1,386 sq ft
$878,800
Freehold
54 4337 BOUNDARY ROAD
Hamilton · 3 bed · 1,292 sq ft
$879,000
Freehold
34 17429 59 AVENUE
Cloverdale · 4 bed · 1,458 sq ft
$879,900
Freehold
33 17429 59 AVENUE
Cloverdale · 4 bed · 1,458 sq ft
$899,900
Freehold
121 1292 ROSENBURG WAY
Burke Mountain · 3 bed · 1,378 sq ft
$915,000
Freehold
32539 HIGGINBOTTOM COURT
Mission · 4 bed · 2,687 sq ft
$939,000
Freehold
11 7762 203 STREET
Willoughby Heights · 3 bed · 1,451 sq ft
$945,000
Freehold
32514 HIGGINBOTTOM COURT
Mission · 6 bed · 3,160 sq ft
$949,900
Freehold
32545 HIGGINBOTTOM COURT
Mission · 5 bed · 2,706 sq ft
$959,900
Freehold
34743 QUARRY AVENUE
Abbotsford East · 3 bed · 2,000 sq ft
$975,000
Freehold
32520 HIGGINBOTTOM COURT
Mission · 7 bed · 3,146 sq ft
$975,000
Freehold
32522 HIGGINBOTTOM COURT
Mission · 6 bed · 3,149 sq ft
$998,000
Freehold
3 6831 SALISBURY AVENUE
Highgate · 2 bed · 1,039 sq ft
$999,000
Freehold
32711 ANTELOPE AVENUE
Mission · 6 bed · 2,918 sq ft
$999,000
Freehold
4 6554 CHARLES STREET
Sperling-Duthie · 2 bed · 1,012 sq ft
$999,900
Freehold
211 601 HARRISON AVENUE
Coquitlam West · 2 bed · 1,193 sq ft
$999,900
Freehold
32504 HIGGINBOTTOM COURT
Mission · 6 bed · 3,216 sq ft
$999,999
Freehold
32529 HIGGINBOTTOM COURT
Mission · 6 bed · 3,149 sq ft
$999,999
Freehold
32531 HIGGINBOTTOM COURT
Mission · 6 bed · 3,145 sq ft
$1,028,999
Freehold
18460 64 AVENUE
Cloverdale · 4 bed · 1,870 sq ft
220 more active listings are not shown here. Search every active listing . Prices are the list price. Most new homes have GST added on top.
Common questions
What does freehold mean when buying a townhouse or duplex in BC?
It means you own the land and the building outright, with no strata corporation, no monthly strata fee, and no strata council deciding what you can do. In the MLS® feed this shows as "Freehold NonStrata". The alternative, "Freehold Strata", still gives you ownership but through a strata corporation that owns the common property.
Do freehold homes cost more than strata homes?
Per square foot, the difference in this market is about 18% lower for freehold, at $695 against $845. That headline figure is misleading on its own, though, because freehold homes are concentrated in different cities than strata homes. Compare inside one city instead, using the table on this page.
Is freehold better than strata?
It is a trade, not an upgrade. No strata fee means you keep the monthly payment, but it also means no contingency reserve fund, so when the roof needs replacing the money comes entirely from you. No strata council means no one telling you about renovations or pets, but also no one managing the shared elements.
How do I tell whether a listing is freehold?
The ownership field on the listing says it, and any listing agent will confirm it in writing. Do not infer it from the property type: plenty of half duplexes are strata, and a row house sold as non-strata is freehold. The title search your lawyer runs is the definitive answer.
Are freehold homes bigger?
In this set, clearly yes. The median freehold home is 2,010 sq ft against 1,546 sq ft for strata. That reflects where they get built: freehold ground-oriented homes are mostly rebuilt suburban lots with room to spread out.
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 homes behind these numbers
Every figure on this page comes from listings you can open. Search the full set of newly built townhouses, half duplexes, and row houses, and filter by price, bedrooms, freehold or strata, pets, and parking.