A line graph tracking page views for Langley, Burnaby and Richmond from 2020 to 2026.
As we can see on this graph, Burnaby is usually above Langley and Richmond (we removed Surrey from this graph to make the separation between the other cities clearer, but it was always above all of these). But something flipped in 2023. Langley rose above Burnaby and stayed that way until this month. What gives?
Let’s start by remembering that these are page views, not purchases. This metric measures individual listing page views in aggregate and plots them over time. When this data is plotted by city or municipality, we can see the overall trends and compare them to each other. That makes this a snapshot of the cities Homeseekers may be interested in. That kind of big picture data tells us about what people are hoping or thinking of buying.
The Langley lifestyle.
And there’s a lot to hope for in Langley. The area gives Homeseekers much of what they say they’re looking for: ground-oriented living close to nature and at lower prices than other areas. The character of development in Langley consists of townhomes and wood-frame mid-rises, with multiple bedrooms. For families seeking more space, that’s an attractive combination.
There’s also something to be said of the detached homes available out in Langley, sometimes for less than $1 million. That is incredibly hard to find in the Lower Mainland, so the appeal is obvious.
Timing likely plays a part, too. Various announcements about the Surrey–Langley SkyTrain extension came about in the years between 2020 and 2023. Plus, the COVID-19 pandemic shifted many people into remote work. Perhaps Langley became seen as a much more viable option when you no longer had to commute to Vancouver every day and there was a SkyTrain line coming eventually, so why not get in early?
Burnaby’s condo bet.
Burnaby might tell the opposite story, then. The character of development in Burnaby before and during COVID-19 was made up of lots of high-rise condos. That, plus its stock of detached homes close to Vancouver likely made it appealing during the era of low interest rates and the real estate surge that happened during the pandemic. All cities in the Lower Mainland saw a massive spike in views in 2021, and Burnaby was no exception.
But as interest rates rose and the market slowed down, high-rise condos saw the largest drop in demand throughout Metro Vancouver. This may have made Burnaby especially vulnerable to the drop, given the pattern of its development so far. There’s not a lot of so-called “missing middle” in Burnaby, in comparison to Langley. Instead, the city consists of high-rises surrounded by swathes of single-family homes.
And single-family homes are another tough spot in the recent real-estate market. While they are popular in both Langley and Burnaby, the latter has more expensive properties in this segment. And in an era of higher interest rates, that may make the city as a whole less attractive.
That’s the story so far, so why did Burnaby beat Langley most recently? As work-from-home programs are being pulled back, commuters may find Langley is too far away to be workable. Burnaby has two SkyTrain lines currently operating, plus plenty of bus routes. Langley’s SkyTrain line is still under construction. And commuting via Highway 1 can take upwards of an hour during peak periods. That could become more unappealing when you consider that beyond commuting to a job, Homeseekers may also realize Vancouver’s amenities and lifestyle offerings are also farther away.
Still, it remains to be seen if this pattern holds. Burnaby could dip away again, making this just an incidental spike. In fact, the Willoughby neighbourhood in Langley is still the overall most-viewed neighbourhood on REW and has been for many years running. But we’ll look into that in another report.
