The best and worst neighbourhoods to buy a home in Vancouver

Urban Napflin/Shutterstock

Vancouver is the most expensive place to buy a home in all of Canada and MoneySense and Zoocasa have compiled a list of the best and worst neighbourhoods for real estate.

The benchmark price in some neighbourhoods is surprisingly decent, but the price in other neighbourhoods is just silly in comparison, and likely out of reach for most first-time home buyers.

Various factors helped rank the respective neighbourhoods, including benchmark price, one-, two-, and three-year growth, as well as value, economics, and accessibility.

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The top three

Sixteen different neighbourhoods were ranked by MoneySense, but the top three are no doubt some of the most beautiful neighbourhoods in all of Vancouver.

Fairview

Urban Napflin/Shutterstock

Located in the west side of the city, Fairview encompasses areas like False Creek, Granville Island, and the South Granville shopping district which is also home to lots of amazing local restaurants.

It’s also home to Vancouver General Hospital and is very transit- and bicycle-friendly.

“The neighbourhood has seen steady price growth over the last few years,” MoneySense notes in its report.

Just over $994,000 was the benchmark price in December 2021 which is 4% higher than it was a year earlier, 10% higher than it was three years earlier, and a whopping 34% higher than it was five years earlier.

MoneySense says Fairview has a value score of 4.2 out of five.

Mount Pleasant

Farts Pfotografy

While Mount Pleasant is currently in somewhat rough shape thanks to the ongoing construction of the Broadway Subway, the neighbourhood still has a lot to offer.

MoneySense says that Mount Pleasant is known for its older heritage buildings, restaurants, and “eclectic stores.” It’s also a neighbourhood that’s a favourite among home buyers.

In December of last year, the benchmark price was $968,276. Home prices were 10% higher than one year earlier, 9% higher than three years earlier and 38% higher than five years earlier.

It has a value score of 4.8 out of five thanks to this continued growth.

Mount Pleasant has great walkability, is very transit- and bicycle-friendly, and has a ton of great breweries and coffee shops.

Dunbar-Southlands

Dunbar Landing (City of Vancouver)

Priced well above both Fairview and Mount Pleasant, Dunbar-Southlands is considered one of the more expensive places to buy real estate in Vancouver.

It isn’t uncommon to drive by enormous mansions in the area. The benchmark price in December of last year hit $3,093,460, but MoneySense notes that the price isn’t increasing as fast as in other neighbourhoods. It has a value score of 0.8 out of 10, but it has a neighbourhood economics score of five out of five.

There’s a local golf course, local trails, parks, and even riding stables.

The rest

MoneySense

Looking at the full list, most neighbourhoods are seeing some growth over a five-year period with the exception of Oakridge. The core of Oakridge is currently undergoing a major redevelopment with the reconstruction of Oakridge Mall. Still, it’s surprising to see such a drop.

While Hastings-Sunrise didn’t quite reach the top three, the growth the neighbourhood has seen over the last year is significant (22%).

Skyrocketing prices

While BC has instituted many policies to try and keep prices in check including the empty homes tax and the foreign buyers’ tax, prices continue to skyrocket.

MoneySense says prices stalled during the pandemic, but the market is seeing a major recovery now.

“With the record-low number of houses on the market, there has been a lot of upward price pressure in the last two years,” said BC Realtor Casey Archibald in a statement.

You can expect prices to continue to soar until supply returns to “normal levels.”

MoneySense doesn’t note who these areas are best and worst for when it comes to demographics, but for a lot of people, any of these Vancouver neighbourhoods are completely out of reach, particularly for first-time home buyers.

Unless they’re willing to put in the time to save for a down payment.