Burnaby Detached Homes: Where the Market Is Moving

Oct 23, 2026 · @Brad Gannon

Burnaby's detached market is busiest between $1.5 million and $2 million, and builders are paying about $250 per square foot of land for a standard lot. That's what 48 detached sales that completed in the last 30 days tell us, across both North and South Burnaby.

Here's what sold, who seems to be buying, and what your money gets you at each price point.

The busiest range: $1.5M to $2M

21 of the 48 sales (44%) landed between $1.5 million and $2 million, more than any other range. Over half of all sales were under $2 million.

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Most homes in this range are older, built before 1980, on lots of 6,000 to 9,000 square feet. That money typically buys a 4 to 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom home of 2,400 to 3,000 square feet, often with a suite. For move-up families, this is the heart of the market.

Sales were split almost evenly between North Burnaby (23) and South Burnaby (25).

What builders are picking up: land at about $250 per square foot

About 1 in 4 sales (11 of 48) were marketed mainly for land value. That means the lot was the selling point, not the house.

Standard-lot land values were very consistent. Four sales landed within about $13 per square foot of each other.

Bigger lots sold for less per square foot of land, even though many are zoned for a duplex or up to six units under the new small-scale multi-unit housing (SSMUH) rules. Extra density isn't yet pushing land prices higher. The best result went to a 10,164 sq ft corner lot near Central Park that came with a 6-unit building plan already drawn up.

See our past post about the SMUH market Burnaby's New-Build Multiplex Market: Fall 2026 Update  

The land-value sales were concentrated around Metrotown, Central Park and Patterson in the south, and Capitol Hill and Brentwood in the north.

Small lots: a livable 33-footer runs $1.6M to $1.86M

Five homes sold on small lots of about 4,000 to 4,500 square feet, and four of them were in North Burnaby: the Heights, Capitol Hill and Willingdon Heights.

• Older homes with a suite (built 1976 to 1989): $1.60M to $1.86M, mostly 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms

• Newer (built 2011): $2.19M

• Entry point: the lowest-priced detached sale in the group was a 3,500 sq ft South Burnaby lot with a 1912 house, at $1.09M

Here's the interesting part. A move-in-ready home on a 33-foot lot in North Burnaby sold for about the same price as a standard 50-foot teardown lot in South Burnaby. Families are paying for the house. Builders are paying for the dirt.

The upper range: newer luxury homes from $2.2M to $3.6M

Nine homes built since 2000 sold, with a median price of $2.80 million.

• Top sale: a brand-new 2026 build in South Slope, 6,008 sq ft with 11 bedrooms and a laneway home, at $3.58M

• Typical size: 3,700 to 6,000 sq ft, often with one or two rental suites and a wok kitchen

• Value per square foot: mostly $580 to $720 per sq ft of finished space. That's below many older homes, where most of the price is the land

Only 9 of 48 sales were above $2.5 million. This is a smaller, more selective part of the market.

Why pricing takes local knowledge

Asking prices across these 48 sales varied widely. Some sellers listed well above market value, while others priced sharply. A full-price offer can still be a great deal on a well-priced home.

"Burnaby can be a tricky market. Some listings are priced hundreds of thousands of dollars above their real market value, while others are priced very sharply. Telling them apart takes careful research and real neighbourhood knowledge. That's where a professional realtor earns their keep." — Brad Gannon, 22-year Burnaby realtor

Thinking about buying or selling a detached home in Burnaby? Get in touch with the Brad & Theo team for a no-pressure look at what your home, or your next one, is really worth.

Based on 48 detached sales in Burnaby North and Burnaby South that completed in the last 30 days, from MLS® data.