VANPLEX
David Babakaiff
Written by David Babakaiff — Co-Founder, VanPlex | 25+ Years BC Construction

What Drives the Price | Bedrooms

What each extra bedroom costs

The step from three bedrooms to four is the decision most families in this market are actually making. Here is what it costs, and why it is smaller than the step to a better postcode.

The short answer

The median three bedroom newly built ground-oriented home lists at $1,298,000 and the median four bedroom at $1,398,000, a step up of $100,000 or about 8%. The four bedroom home is about 360 sq ft larger, so most of that money is buying floor area rather than the extra room itself.

Median 3 bedroom
$1,298,000
Median 4 bedroom
$1,398,000
The step up
$100,000 (8%)
Extra space
360 sq ft

Median price at each bedroom count

  • 2 bedrooms 108 listings $1,099,000
  • 3 bedrooms 685 listings $1,298,000
  • 4 bedrooms 340 listings $1,398,000
  • 5 bedrooms 122 listings $1,488,000
  • 6 bedrooms 73 listings $1,397,700

The full picture

Counts with at least four active listings. Median size shown twice for readability.
Bedrooms Active Median price Per sq ft Median size Median size
2 bedrooms 108 $1,099,000 $1,002 1,126 1,126 sq ft
3 bedrooms 685 $1,298,000 $897 1,462 1,462 sq ft
4 bedrooms 340 $1,398,000 $786 1,822 1,822 sq ft
5 bedrooms 122 $1,488,000 $651 2,297 2,297 sq ft
6 bedrooms 73 $1,397,700 $513 2,932 2,932 sq ft

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.

Why the price per square foot falls as the home gets bigger

A great deal of what a home costs to build does not scale with its size. The land, the excavation, the foundation, the water and sewer connections, the permits, the driveway. Those are close to fixed whether the house is 1,400 square feet or 2,400.

Spread those fixed costs over more floor area and the cost per square foot falls. That is why the ladder above rises steadily in total price while the per square foot column in the table moves the other way.

The practical version: adding a bedroom is one of the cheaper things you can do in this market, per square foot. Moving two neighbourhoods west is one of the most expensive. If your budget is fixed and you need space, the data is fairly clear about which lever to pull.

Where the four bedroom homes are

Every active four bedroom listing, plotted. The concentration in Surrey, Langley, and the Fraser Valley is the reason a fourth bedroom is cheaper than a better postcode.

298 of 340 homes plotted. 11 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. 31 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.

Four bedroom homes on the market

313 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

How much more does a four bedroom cost than a three bedroom?

About $100,000 at the median, or 8% more, measured across 685 three bedroom and 340 four bedroom active listings. The four bedroom home is also around 360 sq ft larger, which is where most of the difference goes.

Is it cheaper to buy four bedrooms further out?

Substantially. Four bedroom homes are heavily concentrated in Surrey, Langley, Abbotsford, Mission, and Delta, where price per square foot runs far below the regional median of $824. Inside Vancouver the four bedroom ground-oriented stock is thin and expensive.

Does price per square foot change with bedroom count?

It falls as the count rises, which surprises people. A larger home costs more in total but less per square foot, because the fixed costs of the land, the foundation, and the services are spread over more floor area. That is why a five bedroom home is rarely five thirds the price of a three bedroom one.

How many bedrooms should I buy?

The data cannot answer that, but it can frame it. Adding a bedroom in this market usually costs less than moving to a more expensive neighbourhood does. If the choice is a four bedroom home further out or a three bedroom home closer in at the same price, that is a commute decision rather than a space decision.

Why are two bedroom homes so thin on the ground?

Because ground-oriented housing is built for families. Only 108 of 1,394 active listings are two bedroom. Buyers who want two bedrooms usually end up comparing against apartments, which this data does not cover.

Where these figures come from

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.

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