These are the Lower Mainland's best value neighbourhoods to buy a home

It is hard for anyone to agree on what exactly the hell is going on in the Lower Mainland real estate market right now, and where it’s going.

The latest report from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV), released just yesterday, showed a “modest increase” in home sales in May, but it’s also springtime — which typically gets busier in the real estate market.

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Sales were still 22% under the 10-year average for the region. The number of homes listed also shot up 30% from the month before. The composite benchmark price for all residential properties in the region is $1,006,400 — down 8.9% over May 2018 and down 0.4% over April 2019.

Even with the statistics, there is still so much uncertainty about what will happen come summer, let alone the next year or two. Will prices continue to fall? Is the market crashing? Is it a good time to sell?  What about to buy? Realtors and analysts can speculate, but there is one common denominator: It’s an uncertain and tumultuous time to be looking to get into the game.

If you’re looking to buy a home, MoneySense magazine just crunched the statistics to evaluate which neighbourhoods in the region are the best value to buy in right now. So basically, where you’ll get the best bang for your buck — if you have a lot of bucks to spend on a single-family home.

The publication analyzed real estate trends over the past five years in 252 neighbourhoods to determine which areas are cheaper on average than neighbouring communities, but with similar access to amenities. Its experts spoke to realtors about the potential for those areas, and the likelihood for price growth.

Its goal was finding up-and-coming neighbourhoods that have momentum, which it judged as a prolonged history of rising property prices.

Average prices were compared against prices versus the area, the regional district, and outer region — the value part of the equation — as well as one- and five-year price increases, which it considered the momentum.

The winners?  No surprise here, but no neighbourhoods in Vancouver made it onto the top 10 winners of the value list, however, one in North Vancouver did. Suburban communities dominate the list, with New Westminster and Richmond capturing top honours.

Here’s a look at the top 40 value neighbourhoods, and click here to see the original source material and the full list: