What Your Budget Buys | Under $700k
New ground-oriented homes under $700,000
This is the thinnest band in the region, and where it exists tells you more than the price does. Here is exactly how many homes clear it, where they are, and what buying at this level actually costs once tax and insurance are counted.
The short answer
55 of the 1,394 active newly built ground-oriented homes in the region list under $700,000, about 3.9% of the market. The median among them is $679,000 for 1,405 sq ft at $483 per square foot. Almost all of them sit in the Fraser Valley.
- Active listings
- 55
- Share of market
- 3.9%
- Median price
- $679,000
- Median size
- 1,405 sq ft
Newly built ground-oriented homes under $700,000
55 active listings
- Median list price
- $679,000
- Median price per sq ft
- $483
- Median size
- 1,405 sq ft
- Median strata fee
- $262
- Median annual property tax
- $2,989
typical range $586,900 to $699,900
typical range $407 to $924
typical range 634 sq ft to 1,640 sq ft
typical range $94 to $350
49 of 55 listings state one
typical range $2,200 to $3,256
16 of 55 listings state one
Measured across 55 active listings on .
What is actually in this band
Where these homes are
- Chilliwack 13 (24%)
- Abbotsford 11 (20%)
- Mission 8 (15%)
- Vancouver 7 (13%)
- Hope 3 (5%)
- Agassiz 3 (5%)
- Tsawwassen 2 (4%)
- Sechelt 2 (4%)
A further 6 listings sit in 6 other cities.
The neighbourhoods with the most of them
- Central Abbotsford, Abbotsford 8
- Mission, Mission 8
- Chilliwack Proper East, Chilliwack 5
- Lower Landing, Chilliwack 5
- Hope, Hope 3
Areas with three or more listings in this band.
How many bedrooms your money gets
- 1 bedroom 8 (15%)
- 2 bedrooms 10 (18%)
- 3 bedrooms 37 (67%)
Median size
1,405 sq ft
Median per sq ft
$483
Median list price
$679,000
Type
51 townhouses, 2 half duplexes , 2 row houses
Ownership
49 strata, 0 freehold with no strata , 6 not stated
The part of this price that works in your favour
Buying below $700,000 puts you under both of the property transfer tax exemption thresholds at once. A newly built home is fully exempt at $1,100,000 or less, and a first-time buyer is fully exempt at $835,000 or less. Every home in this band clears both by a wide margin, so the tax that would cost roughly $12,000 on a $700,000 purchase can come to nothing.
Both exemptions require you to move in within 92 days of registration and live there for the first year. They are for people buying a home to live in, not for a rental purchase.
The down payment rules are also at their easiest here. Minimum down on a $700,000 home is $45,000, well under the 20% that a $1.5M home forces. What you give up for that is mortgage default insurance, which adds about $26,200 to the amount you borrow.
Is this band right for you
Works well if
- ✓ You work remotely, or already work east of Langley
- ✓ You want a brand new home with warranty rather than an older one closer in
- ✓ You are a first-time buyer and want both PTT exemptions comfortably in reach
- ✓ Space matters more than proximity, and this band still delivers a large median home
Does not work if
- ✕ You commute into Vancouver or Burnaby regularly
- ✕ You need SkyTrain access, which this band does not reach
- ✕ You want to be near family who live in the western half of the region
- ✕ You need to sell quickly in future, since these markets are thinner both ways
Check before you offer
- → Whether GST is included in the list price, and whether you qualify for the new housing rebate
- → That you meet the occupancy conditions for the newly built home PTT exemption
- → The real drive time to your workplace at your actual departure hour
- → The strata fee and what it covers, since a low price does not guarantee a low fee
Where the sub-$700,000 homes are
The clearest possible answer to whether this price works for you. Almost none of it is inside Metro Vancouver proper, and the map shows that faster than any paragraph.
44 of 55 homes plotted. 11 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.
Every active listing under $700,000
$399,900133 601 HARRISON AVENUE
Coquitlam West · 1 bed · 431 sq ft
$449,900SL 1 320 N NANAIMO STREET
Hastings Sunrise · 1 bed · 572 sq ft
$555,000111 7161 17TH AVENUE
Burnaby · 1 bed · 626 sq ft
$569,000D 7533 WREN STREET
Mission · 2 bed · 920 sq ft
$575,0005 5522 MCCOURT ROAD
Sechelt District · 3 bed · 1,239 sq ft
$584,9009 7300 COPPERWOOD STREET
Lower Landing · 3 bed · 1,560 sq ft
$589,900152 2451 N GRANDVIEW HIGHWAY
Renfrew Heights · 1 bed · 490 sq ft
$595,0002 5522 MCCOURT ROAD
Sechelt District · 2 bed · 1,287 sq ft
$614,90020 33525 KINGSTON AVENUE
Central Abbotsford · 3 bed · 1,272 sq ft
$619,9002 595 E 49TH AVENUE
Fraser Street · 2 bed · 645 sq ft
$624,900113 34588 MARSHALL ROAD
Abbotsford East · 3 bed · 1,417 sq ft
$625,0006 1655 AGASSIZ ROSEDALE NO 9 HIGHWAY
Agassiz · 3 bed · 1,536 sq ft
$625,0003 1655 AGASSIZ ROSEDALE NO 9 HIGHWAY
Agassiz · 3 bed · 1,536 sq ft
$629,9003 2886 MONTROSE AVENUE
Central Abbotsford · 2 bed · 1,275 sq ft
$629,9008 7300 COPPERWOOD STREET
Lower Landing · 3 bed · 1,611 sq ft
$634,90010 7312 MULBERRY ROAD
Lower Landing · 3 bed · 1,562 sq ft
$639,9007 33520 KINGSTON AVENUE
Central Abbotsford · 3 bed · 1,289 sq ft
$639,90014 7312 MULBERRY ROAD
Lower Landing · 3 bed · 1,560 sq ft
$649,0002 558 PARK STREET
Hope · 3 bed · 1,550 sq ft
$649,90068 8430 NOTTMAN STREET
Mission · 3 bed · 1,420 sq ft
$659,0001 1937 TEMPLETON DRIVE
Grandview-Woodland · 2 bed · 697 sq ft
$664,90017 7312 MULBERRY ROAD
Lower Landing · 3 bed · 1,666 sq ft
$669,000104 3528 146A STREET
King George Corridor · 2 bed · 1,223 sq ft
$669,90010 33520 KINGSTON AVENUE
Central Abbotsford · 3 bed · 1,335 sq ft
$674,0003 558 PARK STREET
Hope · 3 bed · 1,550 sq ft
$675,00036 30530 CARDINAL AVENUE
Abbotsford West · 3 bed · 1,318 sq ft
$679,00017 7540 BRISKHAM STREET
Mission · 3 bed · 1,409 sq ft
$679,0001 9636 ST DAVID STREET
Chilliwack Proper East · 3 bed · 1,777 sq ft
$679,90019 33525 KINGSTON AVENUE
Central Abbotsford · 3 bed · 1,289 sq ft
$679,9006 46106 RIVERSIDE DRIVE
Chilliwack Proper East · 3 bed · 1,660 sq ft
25 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
Can you still buy a new townhouse under $700,000 in Metro Vancouver?
Not really inside Metro Vancouver proper. Of the 55 active listings under $700,000, the overwhelming majority are in Chilliwack, Mission, Abbotsford, Hope, and Agassiz. Vancouver, Burnaby, and North Vancouver have effectively nothing new at this price.
What down payment do I need at this price?
The minimum is 5% on the first $500,000 and 10% on the rest, so on a $700,000 home that is $45,000. Because that is under 20%, mortgage default insurance applies and adds roughly $26,200 to the loan at the 95% band.
Do I pay property transfer tax on a home under $700,000?
Probably not, if you qualify. A newly built home at $1.1M or less gets a full exemption from property transfer tax when you occupy it as your principal residence within 92 days and stay a year. Every home in this band is well under that threshold. A first-time buyer under $835,000 has a second route to the same result.
Is GST on top of these prices?
On a new home, normally yes, and 5% on a $650,000 home is $32,500. Check the listing and the contract, because a minority state that GST is included. The GST new housing rebate can reduce the amount on qualifying purchases.
Why is the inventory so thin at this price?
Because land plus construction plus development charges rarely leave a new ground-oriented home under $700,000 anywhere with quick access to the city. The homes that clear it are almost all an hour or more east, where land costs a fraction of what it does closer in.
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.
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- Government of BC, newly built home PTT exemption
Full exemption at $1,100,000 or less, partial to $1,150,000. Effective 1 April 2024.
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- Government of BC, first time home buyers' PTT exemption
Full exemption at $835,000 or less, partial to $860,000. Effective 1 April 2024.
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- CMHC, mortgage loan insurance premiums
2.80% at 80.01 to 85% LTV, 3.10% to 90%, 4.00% to 95%.
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- Canada Revenue Agency, GST/HST new housing rebate
GST applies to new homes. The rebate reduces it on qualifying purchases.
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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.