Where to Buy Real Estate in Canada 2023: Langley, Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge, B.C.
On the cusp of B.C.’s Fraser Valley, these three cities have grown quickly in popularity among buyers in and outside of the province.
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On the cusp of B.C.’s Fraser Valley, these three cities have grown quickly in popularity among buyers in and outside of the province.
In the table below, you’ll find the top neighbourhoods for real estate purchases in these cities. To view all the data, slide the columns right or left using your fingers or mouse. You can download the data to your device in Excel, CSV and PDF formats.
Source: Zoocasa
These three cities have grown quickly in popularity among buyers in and outside of B.C. In March 2022, the average price of a home in Langley was $1,117,369, while in Pitt Meadows it was $1,142,600, and in Port Moody it was $1,256,300.
“In early 2022, Langley, Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge were in high demand,” explains local eXp Realty agent Geoff Pershick. (Zoocasa, the author of this study, is wholly owned by eXp World Holdings.) “Much like all the suburbs surrounding Vancouver, prices ballooned and then came down quickly as interest rates rose.” For example, by December, the average price in Pitt Meadows had fallen to $853,400, down 25% from March.
While demand was high across the board at the beginning of 2022, relatively affordable property types like townhouses and condo apartments sustained their popularity as interest rates and the cost of borrowing rose.
“In the first few months of 2022, every property type was in demand,” says Pershick. Once interest rates began to increase, demand changed almost monthly and buyers began to favour less expensive property types like townhouses and apartments. Affordability and lack of supply are core issues across B.C., and they impact these cities as well.”
In 2023, affordability remains tight across these three cities. One of the other major challenges is that housing demand exceeds supply. The cities’ popularity among home buyers has increased and doesn’t appear likely to lessen. Home prices are slowly beginning to climb again. The average price in Pitt Meadows increased by about 3% from February to March 2023, while Port Moody’s improved by 1% over the same period. Demand has increased as well, with sales numbers improving early in 2023. In March, there were 44 apartment sales in Port Moody, up over 100% from February.
“As the population grows, so does the demand for real estate,” adds Pershick. “Inventory has been strained for many years and our population growth is exceeding the rate at which new properties are being built. Because supply will likely remain tight and interest rates are still high, we may experience a relatively flat year for sales.”
Albion is a neighbourhood in Maple Ridge. It’s one of several small towns in the region. Albion has seen strong home price growth in the last five years. At the end of 2022, the average price was $1,216,895, up 70% from five years earlier. Over a one-year period, the price was up 22%. Albion has a perfect economics score of 5 and a value score of 3. However, many residents of Albion rely on their own vehicles for transportation, which explains the neighbourhood’s low accessibility score of 0.4. Also, over half of the households in Albion (56%) have children.
View Albion real estate listings on Zoocasa.
Thornhill is located on the south slope of Grant Hill in Maple Ridge. The area is heavily forested and features long hiking and horseback trails, as well as a disc golf course. Thornhill’s average home price of $1,756,081 at the end of 2022 was 24% higher than one year earlier. And although the neighbourhood only scores 2.9 on value, it has had huge price growth in the last five years—with an increase of 98% in the average price as of December 2022. The area is strong economically, earning a score of 5. But it’s hard to get around without a personal vehicle, earning Thornhill an accessibility score of only 0.4. Like Albion, it has one of the highest concentrations of households with children among the areas on this list, at 56%.
View Thornhill real estate listings on Zoocasa.
Walnut Grove, located in northwest Langley, has become one of the city’s hottest food and entertainment destinations in the last few years. At the end of 2022, the average home price in Walnut Grove was $1,088,714—21% higher than one year earlier. The neighbourhood’s five-year price growth has been significant, up 66% as of December 2022, earning it a value score of 3. The neighbourhood has a strong economics score of 4.7, and its accessibility score of 3.2 means that residents can get around relatively easily by car or public transit.
View Walnut Grove real estate listings on Zoocasa.
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