I pulled six months of Vancouver sales on MultiLiving and looked only at homes built in 2024 or later. Every sale in the results was listed as a half duplex or a townhouse, and the half duplex group was the larger one. The sale records have no “multiplex” type, so new multiplex homes are counted inside those two groups.
The counts and prices change every time a sale closes, so I describe them in words here. The current figures are on MultiLiving’s sold page, which asks you to sign in.
Why “multiplex” is missing from the sale records
A builder can put two duplexes on one lot, one at the front and one off the lane. That’s four homes on one property, and each can show up in the sales data as a half duplex. Put four, five or six homes in one building and the units can show up as townhouses, beside conventional townhomes.
| What gets built on the lot | Homes | How each sale can be listed |
|---|---|---|
| Two duplex buildings, one at the street and one at the lane | 4 | Half duplex |
| One building with four, five or six homes | 4 to 6 | Townhouse |
| A conventional townhome project | Varies | Townhouse |
Our own multiplex homes for sale search works the same way. It reads listings typed as half duplex, townhouse or row house, because the MLS® feed has no multiplex type.
So the half duplex sales tell us how the homes were listed. Some of them are part of four-home projects. The townhouse sales are a second source on the multiplex market, with conventional townhomes and multiplex units in the same group.
What buyers paid for each type
The median half duplex sold for more than the median home in the townhouse group. The townhouse group sold for more per square foot. These are medians, and the range of sale prices around them was wide.
| Half duplex group | Townhouse group | |
|---|---|---|
| Share of the sales | Most | The rest |
| Median sale price | Higher | Lower |
| Median price per square foot | Lower | Higher |
| Typical home | Larger | More compact |
Source: MultiLiving, six months of Vancouver sales of homes built in 2024 or later, as I read them on November 12, 2026. The last row is my own observation from projects. MultiLiving reports one size figure for the two groups together.
That matches what I see in these projects. Half duplex homes tend to be larger. A more compact multiplex home gives the buyer a lower total price and can still sell for more per square foot.
If you want asking prices for homes on the market today, we counted them in condo or new multiplex home in Vancouver.
What builders are telling me
In conversations with builders we work with, I hear versions of one story. One or two homes in a fiveplex sell, and the other three or four wait for a buyer. Some builders now plan for 10 to 12 months to sell every home in a project. That is their own planning estimate, based on what they see at their own sites.
While the money from a finished project stays in unsold homes, the builder can’t use it to start the next one. The next lot purchase gets delayed. I think this is one reason I see lower asking prices on many single-family houses: fewer builders are buying lots. That is my own view from watching listings.
What a Bill 44 repeal could change
This part is a guess about the future. Premier-designate Lorne Doerkson said of Bill 44 on October 30, 2026: “I think we will look at repealing it” (CHEK News). No repeal bill has been introduced.
If BC’s new government repeals Bill 44 and gives cities more say over how they add housing, I expect bigger differences between cities and less certainty in the near term. What fits on a lot, what needs a variance and how long an approval takes could differ more from one city to the next. I think investors put less money into projects when the rules are uncertain.
Vancouver’s council approved its own multiplex rules on September 14, 2023 (Daily Hive), before Bill 44 passed third reading on November 29, 2023 (Legislative Assembly of BC). That is one reason I’m watching what each city does. Our breakdown of the Bill 44 repeal discussion has the details.
Why the choice of lot matters more in a down market
This is the work we do at VanPlex. For any lot, I want to know what the city will let us build, what comparable homes are selling for, and which layouts make sense at those prices. The answers can change when you cross a city boundary. Sometimes they change between the street side and the lane side of one lot.
I have written before that most multiplex-eligible lots return too little to build on, and that a small share return enough to cover the risk of falling prices. Builders who chose a lot or a design with a low projected profit are now seeing that profit get smaller as their homes take longer to sell.
Check a lot’s numbers before you buy it. PlexRank™ scores residential parcels across BC for multiplex potential.
General information only, not legal, tax or financial advice. The sales described here are one six-month reading and will change as new sales close.
David Babakaiff, Co-Founder, VanPlex | PlexRank™ | Profit with Multiplex
