Your Guide to Metrotown Real Estate
Metrotown is the urban centre of Burnaby and one of the most active condo markets in Metro Vancouver. High-rise concrete condos, Metropolis at Metrotown (BC's largest shopping centre), SkyTrain at the door, and a master-planned future that keeps adding density. If you want full urban living with everything within walking distance, fewer neighbourhoods in the region deliver the way Metrotown does. If you want anything other than condos, this isn't your neighbourhood.
A Quick Look at the Metrotown Market
Metrotown is overwhelmingly a high-rise condo market with some townhome and mid-rise inventory on the edges. Detached homes are minimal in the Metrotown core itself. The market has multiple distinct sub-segments, older concrete towers from the 80s and 90s with larger floorplans and lower price-per-square-foot, mid-2000s buildings around the original mall expansion, and a steady wave of newer high-rises from developments like Station Square, Sun Towers, and the broader Metrotown master plan. For specific building or floor pricing, reach out and I'll pull live numbers.
Who Lives in Metrotown
One of the most international neighbourhoods in Canada. Strong East Asian community (Chinese, Korean, Taiwanese, Filipino), growing South Asian presence, and a diverse mix of young professionals, downsizers from the Westside and West End of Vancouver, and investors. Heavy renter population in many buildings. International students from Simon Fraser University, BCIT, and the language schools downtown are common in the rental pool.
Schools and Family Life
Marlborough Elementary is the main elementary catchment for much of the Metrotown core. Maywood Community School serves portions of the area. Secondary students attend Moscrop Secondary, which is one of the most academically strong public schools in BC. Central Park is the major green space on the western edge of Metrotown, full of mature trees, walking trails, sports fields, and the Swangard Stadium. The Bonsor Community Centre offers programming and a pool right next to Metropolis.
Getting Around
Metrotown SkyTrain Station is one of the busiest in the region and sits in the middle of the neighbourhood. Downtown Vancouver is 15-20 minutes by SkyTrain. New Westminster is 10 minutes. YVR is roughly 40 minutes with one transfer. Bus connections along Kingsway, Imperial, and Beresford are frequent. Walk Score in the core is 95-plus, you genuinely don't need a car if you live near the station. Drivers have access to Kingsway, Canada Way, and Highway 1 via Boundary or Royal Oak.
What's Nearby
Metropolis at Metrotown is the anchor, BC's largest shopping centre with hundreds of retailers, a major food court, and Cineplex. Crystal Mall serves the Asian retail and food scene, the food court there is legitimately one of the best in the Lower Mainland for authentic regional Chinese cuisine. Old Orchard Shopping Centre offers more local-feel retail. Central Park gives you mature trees, walking paths, and Swangard Stadium. Bonsor Community Centre has a pool, gym, and library. Restaurant variety along Kingsway and inside the malls is genuinely one of the best food scenes in Canada.
The Housing Stock
Almost entirely concrete high-rise condos. Three rough generations of buildings. Older towers from the 80s and 90s with larger floorplans, often dated finishes, but solid concrete construction at lower price-per-square-foot. Mid-2000s and 2010s buildings around Station Square and the broader area, generally modern layouts with full amenity packages. Newer master-planned communities including Sun Towers, Station Square's later phases, and the Concord Metrotown development bringing the most amenitized product. Floor and view matter significantly, higher floors with unobstructed views command real premiums.
Recent Market Activity
Metrotown is one of the most active condo markets in Metro Vancouver by transaction volume. The combination of transit, retail, employment access, and pricing below Vancouver downtown keeps demand steady. New supply continues to add inventory through ongoing master-planned phases. The rental market is one of the strongest in the region, which supports investor demand alongside end-users.
Is Metrotown Right for You?
It's right for you if you want full urban high-rise living with everything you need within walking distance. It's right for you if you commute to downtown Vancouver or work nearby, the transit access is exceptional. It's right for you if you're investing and want a market with strong rental demand.
It's not for you if you need detached or even townhome living, that's not what Metrotown is. It's not for you if you want quiet, Metrotown is dense and busy and noise from Kingsway and the SkyTrain is real, particularly in older buildings. The neighbourhood has seen significant resident displacement during demolition of older purpose-built rental buildings to make way for new condo development, the so-called "Metrotown evictions" of recent years, which is worth understanding as part of the neighbourhood's recent history. Building selection in older towers is critical, depreciation reports, special levy history, and contingency reserve fund matter.
Thinking of Buying or Selling in Metrotown?
I'm Michael Bortolin, a New Westminster realtor with One Percent Realty Ltd. Metrotown is one of the most building-specific markets in the region, the right tower, the right floor, the right exposure all matter and they all affect pricing. Happy to walk you through which buildings hold up and what to look for. Reach me at 604-446-1535 or through the contact form on this site.
