Half Duplex | What it is
Half Duplex or Condo: What Changes
For a lot of buyers this is the real decision: stay in an apartment and get more space for the money, or move to the ground and take on a different set of responsibilities.
The short answer
A half duplex gives you ground access, private outdoor space, and usually much more floor area than an apartment at the same price. In exchange you take on maintenance an apartment strata would have handled, you have far fewer people to share costs with, and you are further from the places apartments get built.
Newly built half duplexs on the market
635 active listings
- Median list price
- $1,575,000
- Median price per sq ft
- $841
- Median size
- 1,956 sq ft
- Median strata fee
- $310
- Median annual property tax
- $5,000
typical range $1,129,000 to $2,348,480
typical range $476 to $1,261
typical range 1,427 sq ft to 3,141 sq ft
typical range $104 to $601
37 of 635 listings state one
typical range $2,603 to $8,242
224 of 635 listings state one
Measured across 635 active listings on .
Where these homes are
Click a pin for the photo, the price, and a Street View link.
300 of 635 homes plotted. 302 more have coordinates but were left off to keep the map readable. The ones shown are spread evenly across the price range rather than taken from one end. 33 listings have no coordinates in the feed and cannot be placed. Click a pin for the photo, the price, and a Street View link. Zoom with the plus and minus buttons or by pinching.
Homes behind these numbers
$679,0001 9636 ST DAVID STREET
Chilliwack Proper East · 3 bed · 1,777 sq ft
$759,0001155 KEEFER STREET
Strathcona · 2 bed · 784 sq ft
$812,0002473 BECK ROAD
Central Abbotsford · 3 bed · 1,609 sq ft
$812,0002485 BECK ROAD
Abbotsford East · 3 bed · 1,609 sq ft
$838,0002 3583 HAIDA DRIVE
Renfrew Heights · 3 bed · 1,050 sq ft
$838,0001 3583 HAIDA DRIVE
Renfrew Heights · 3 bed · 1,040 sq ft
$848,000
Freehold
2465 BECK ROAD
Abbotsford East · 3 bed · 1,609 sq ft
$859,900
Freehold
8576 DUNBAR WAY
Mission · 4 bed · 2,233 sq ft
$859,900
Freehold
8548 DUNBAR WAY
Mission · 4 bed · 2,233 sq ft
$869,90044720 WILLOWSTREAM ROAD
Lower Landing · 4 bed · 2,306 sq ft
$899,9001051 CELIA CRESCENT
Gibsons & Area · 3 bed · 1,702 sq ft
$915,000
Freehold
32539 HIGGINBOTTOM COURT
Mission · 4 bed · 2,687 sq ft
623 more active listings are not shown here. Search every active listing . Prices are the list price. Most new homes have GST added on top.
What you gain
Ground access is the obvious one, and it changes daily life more than the floor plan suggests. A door to the street, somewhere to leave a stroller or a bike, private outdoor space, and no elevator or corridor between you and the car.
Space is the other. Ground-oriented homes in this region are consistently larger than apartments at the same price, and the gap grows as you add bedrooms. A family that has run out of room in a two bedroom apartment is usually looking at ground-oriented housing next.
What you take on
In an apartment building, several hundred owners share the cost of the roof, the envelope, the elevators, and the boiler. In a two-owner strata, two households share the cost of the roof. The same repair costs the same money; the number of people paying for it is completely different.
That is the real trade, and it is not visible in the monthly fee. A low fee is not a saving if it means there is no reserve when the envelope needs work. Read the depreciation report and ask what has been set aside.
Where each one exists
Apartments cluster near rapid transit and town centres, because that is where the land supports the density. Ground-oriented homes mostly do not, with the Cambie corridor being the notable exception.
So this decision often turns out to be about location rather than housing type. Moving from an apartment to a half duplex frequently means moving further from a station, and that is worth pricing before you decide.
Is this right for you
Works well if
- ✓ You need more floor area than an apartment at your budget offers
- ✓ Ground access and private outdoor space matter to your household
- ✓ You are comfortable being responsible for a share of real maintenance
Does not work if
- ✕ You want a building that handles everything for you
- ✕ You need to be within walking distance of rapid transit
- ✕ A large unexpected repair bill would be a genuine problem
Check before you offer
- → The depreciation report and what is actually in the contingency reserve
- → How the two owners split shared costs, in writing
- → The real commute from the new address, since it is often further out
- → Whether the outdoor space is yours exclusively or common property
Read next
Common questions
Is a half duplex a better investment than a condo?
This site does not forecast prices and neither should anything else you read. What is measurable is that ground-oriented homes give more floor area per dollar than apartments in this region, and that they are concentrated further from rapid transit. Which of those matters more is your call, not a spreadsheet's.
Are strata fees lower in a half duplex?
Almost always, because a two-owner strata maintains almost nothing in common. But a lower fee means a smaller reserve, and the roof costs the same either way. Treat the fee as information about what is being funded, not as a saving.
Do I still have strata rules in a half duplex?
If it is a strata, yes, and they are agreed between you and one other owner rather than voted on by a council. That is simpler when you get along and harder when you do not, because there is no majority to appeal to and no management company to mediate.
Where these figures come from
- VanPlex active listings, MLS® data
Active townhouses, half duplexes, and row houses built in the last two years across Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley.
Checked
See the half duplexes on the market
Every figure in this hub comes from listings you can open. Search the full set and filter by price, bedrooms, freehold or strata, pets, parking, and distance to a station.