Metrotown Has More Condo Towers Than Any Burnaby Neighbourhood — Which One Fits You?
Metrotown is the densest residential market in Burnaby, and it is still growing. Around Metropolis at Metrotown and the SkyTrain station you will find towers completed in the 1990s standing beside buildings finished in the last two or three years, with more under construction between them.
That density is the reason the search feels overwhelming. In most neighbourhoods you compare houses. Here you are comparing buildings — construction type, age, strata culture, rental rules and where each one sits relative to the station.
The buyer pool splits fairly cleanly. First-time buyers come for the price per square foot and the transit access. Investors come for the rental depth, because Metrotown has one of the most consistent tenant markets in Metro Vancouver. Both groups are shopping in the same towers, which is why well-priced units move quickly.
Before you tour twelve buildings, it helps to narrow to three. Speak with Navid Hakimi to work out which Metrotown buildings actually suit what you are trying to do.
Navid's Past sold properties
Concrete or Wood-Frame? How Metrotown Building Type Drives Cost
This is the first thing I ask a Metrotown buyer, because it changes the price, the monthly cost and the long-term risk.
Concrete towers hold value more steadily, carry sound and fire ratings buyers notice immediately, and generally have longer building lifespans. Wood-frame low-rises are cheaper to buy and often cheaper monthly, but they age faster and are more exposed to envelope repairs.
Neither is the right answer universally. If you are buying to hold for fifteen years, the concrete premium usually earns itself back. If you are buying your first home and plan to move within five, a well-maintained wood-frame building can be the smarter financial move.
Track record and client satisfaction
Navid’s background on the North Shore and across Greater Vancouver gives you a solid base of experience to rely on.
- Top one percent Greater Vancouver Realtor
- Top one hundred RE MAX Canada
- More than ninety solo deals in a single year
- Over one hundred verified five star reviews on RankMyAgent
This record reflects consistent preparation, negotiation and follow through for clients in different price ranges and cities.
Metrotown Condos and Apartments Currently on the Market
Metrotown inventory is deep and it turns over constantly, which is good news for a buyer with a clear brief and difficult for one without.
At any given time you can expect to see:
- Studios and one-bedroom units, the most liquid and most investor-held segment
- Two-bedroom homes, the sweet spot for owner-occupiers and small families
- Older wood-frame low-rise apartments west of the mall, often the lowest entry price in the area
- New completions with developer inventory still available
- A small number of townhome-style units at the base of some towers
Because so many units trade each month, sold data here is genuinely reliable. There is rarely a need to guess at value in Metrotown — the comparables exist, sometimes in the same stack.
With this much inventory, a Metrotown real estate agent filtering by building type is the difference between a shortlist and a spreadsheet.
FAQ
It has one of the deepest and most consistent rental markets in Metro Vancouver, though real returns depend heavily on the strata fee and building type.
Many are within a five to ten minute walk of Metrotown Station on the Expo Line, but walking distance varies significantly building to building.
They range widely depending on age, construction type and amenities, which is why comparing fee per square foot between buildings is more useful than comparing totals.
Rental bylaws differ by strata, so this needs to be confirmed for each building before you write if the purchase depends on renting it out.
Pre-2000 Towers Versus New Metrotown Completions
Older and newer Metrotown towers compete for the same buyers at very different price points, and each has a genuine case.
Factor | Pre-2000 Tower | Recent Completion |
Price per square foot | Noticeably lower | Highest in the neighbourhood |
Unit size | Often larger for the same bedroom count | More efficient, smaller footprints |
Strata fee | Varies widely with the reserve fund’s health | Typically lower at first, rising as the building ages |
Capital risk | Envelope, elevators and plumbing may be due | Warranty coverage still in place |
Best suited to | Buyers wanting space and willing to review the reserve | Buyers prioritising low near-term maintenance |
What a Metrotown Unit Rents For and How Yield Is Actually Calculated
A lot of Metrotown listings are pitched at investors, and a lot of the yield numbers quoted are optimistic.
Real yield is rent minus strata fees, property taxes, insurance, vacancy allowance and maintenance — not rent divided by price. Once you run it properly, two units at the same asking price can look very different, usually because one has a strata fee half again as high as the other.
I will run those numbers with you before you write, using realistic rents for the specific building rather than a neighbourhood average. If a property does not work, it is better to know at the offer stage.
Where the Metrotown Downtown Plan Is Adding Height Next
Burnaby’s Metrotown Downtown Plan set out a long-term vision for tower density around the station, and it is being built out block by block.
For a buyer this matters in two directions. A site slated for redevelopment near you may mean years of construction noise and a changed outlook. It can also mean rising land values and, in some cases, eventual redevelopment potential for the building you are buying into.
Before you commit to a view, I check what is approved or in application on the surrounding blocks. A protected outlook and a temporary one are worth quite different amounts.
Reading a Metrotown Strata’s Depreciation Report Before You Offer
In a building with two hundred units, your exposure to the strata’s decisions is larger than your exposure to your own suite.
I go through the depreciation report, the last two years of minutes and the contingency reserve balance before you write. What I am looking for is simple: is the building funding what it is going to need, or is it deferring it onto whoever owns the unit in three years?
This is the single most useful hour spent in a Metrotown purchase, and it is the step most buyers skip.
Running those reserve numbers before you write is where a Metrotown real estate agent saves you real money.
Have Metrotown Listings Sent to You by Building and Floor Level
Generic alerts for Metrotown condos will bury you. Precise ones will not.
Tell me your budget, whether you need parking, the minimum floor level you want and whether rentals need to be permitted. I will send only the units that match — labelled by building, construction type and exposure so you can compare them properly.
Review a Metrotown Purchase With Navid Hakimi
Metrotown rewards buyers who understand buildings and punishes buyers who only compare listing prices.
Speak with Navid Hakimi for straightforward, numbers-first guidance on buying a condo in Metrotown and across Burnaby.
Explore Other Burnaby Neighbourhoods
Paying tower prices for a floor plan you could get cheaper nearby? These Burnaby markets are the usual alternatives.
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