Burnaby

With Vancouver to the west, New Westminster and Surrey to the south, Port Moody and Coquitlam to the east and the Burrard Inlet to the north, Burnaby is smack dab in the middle of Greater Vancouver. This prime location means it’s one of the best connected suburbs in the region, with both the Expo and Millennium SkyTrain lines running through key corridors in the city.

Serving the southwest quadrant of Burnaby, Metrotown is considered the city’s central business district and home to Canada’s third largest shopping mall, Metropolis at Metrotown. The city has big plans for the area. In 2019, Burnaby City Council approved a long-term master plan that will eventually replace the mall with a revitalized neighborhood with new high rises, retail space, streets and pedestrian plazas. This means options for homeseekers, with studios, one, two and three-bedroom homes coming to the market near the SkyTrain station.

The upscale Government Road neighbourhood is probably not the place to enter the housing market, with minimum lot sizes of around 10,000 square feet. Homes in this community range from 6,000 square feet to a whopping 20,000 square feet. On Government Road, it’s easy to forget you’re in one of the region’s biggest suburbs. Burnaby Lake is a short stroll away, surrounded by a 10 kilometre trail popular with joggers and dog walkers.

Locals may have scoffed at the name at first, but The Amazing Brentwood has earned its moniker. This master-planned neighbourhood has seen massive development in recent years, with residential towers alongside retail stores, cafes and a movie theatre.

Much more to come.

Despite the shift towards condo living, much of Burnaby still caters to those seeking a quieter life. Detached homes cover most of the city’s neighbourhoods, and 25% of Burnaby’s land is designated as parks and open spaces, one of the highest rates in North America.

And Burnaby’s transport lines are the home to most of the city’s densification plans, with 40-plus storey towers in Brentwood and Metrotown just streets away from single-family homes (and an 80-storey behemoth planned for the nearby Lougheed Town Centre). Rapid development has given rise to a burgeoning culture as first-time buyers move into the area, closely followed by exciting new businesses.