What Drives the Price | Bedrooms
What each extra bedroom costs
The step from three bedrooms to four is the decision most families in this market are actually making. Here is what it costs, and why it is smaller than the step to a better postcode.
The short answer
The median three bedroom newly built ground-oriented home lists at $1,298,000 and the median four bedroom at $1,398,500, a step up of $100,500 or 8%. The four bedroom home is 393 sq ft larger, so most of that money is buying floor area rather than the extra room itself.
- Median 3 bedroom
- $1,298,000
- Median 4 bedroom
- $1,398,500
- The step up
- $100,500 (8%)
- Extra space
- 393 sq ft
Median price at each bedroom count
- 2 bedrooms 106 listings $1,099,450
- 3 bedrooms 726 listings $1,298,000
- 4 bedrooms 342 listings $1,398,500
- 5 bedrooms 134 listings $1,449,500
- 6 bedrooms 74 listings $1,398,294
The full picture
| Bedrooms | Active | Median price | Per sq ft | Median size | Median size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 bedrooms | 106 | $1,099,450 | $1,002 | 1,116 | 1,116 sq ft |
| 3 bedrooms | 726 | $1,298,000 | $905 | 1,480 | 1,480 sq ft |
| 4 bedrooms | 342 | $1,398,500 | $758 | 1,873 | 1,873 sq ft |
| 5 bedrooms | 134 | $1,449,500 | $601 | 2,308 | 2,308 sq ft |
| 6 bedrooms | 74 | $1,398,294 | $512 | 2,837 | 2,837 sq ft |
A dash means fewer than four active listings, which is too few to publish a figure for. Rows with four to seven listings show a range instead of a median.
Why the price per square foot falls as the home gets bigger
A great deal of what a home costs to build does not scale with its size. The land, the excavation, the foundation, the water and sewer connections, the permits, the driveway. Those are close to fixed whether the house is 1,400 square feet or 2,400.
Spread those fixed costs over more floor area and the cost per square foot falls. That is why the ladder above rises steadily in total price while the per square foot column in the table moves the other way.
The practical version: adding a bedroom is one of the cheaper things you can do in this market, per square foot. Moving two neighbourhoods west is one of the most expensive. If your budget is fixed and you need space, the data points clearly at which lever to pull.
Where the four bedroom homes are
Every active four bedroom listing, plotted. The concentration in Surrey, Langley, and the Fraser Valley is the reason a fourth bedroom is cheaper than a better postcode.
300 of 342 homes plotted. 30 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. 12 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.
Four bedroom homes on the market
$689,0007 7540 BRISKHAM STREET
Mission · 4 bed · 1,487 sq ft
$719,90015 32970 TUNBRIDGE AVENUE
Mission · 4 bed · 1,744 sq ft
$729,9006 31981 CORAL AVENUE
Abbotsford West · 4 bed · 1,752 sq ft
$799,90051 3025 MCMILLAN ROAD
Central Abbotsford · 4 bed · 1,563 sq ft
$799,999101 10333 133 STREET
Whalley · 4 bed · 1,420 sq ft
$819,9002 8745 ASHWELL ROAD
Lower Landing · 4 bed · 2,417 sq ft
$829,0004 30501 ROBIN DRIVE
Abbotsford West · 4 bed · 1,960 sq ft
$829,0003 30501 ROBIN DRIVE
Abbotsford West · 4 bed · 1,957 sq ft
$829,8006 10372 240A STREET
Albion · 4 bed · 1,445 sq ft
$837,000146 15778 85 AVENUE
Fleetwood Tynehead · 4 bed · 1,534 sq ft
$839,8007 10372 240 A STREET
Albion · 4 bed · 1,445 sq ft
$859,0009 14391 61A AVENUE
Sullivan Station · 4 bed · 2,129 sq ft
$859,9005 5993 143 STREET
Sullivan Station · 4 bed · 1,494 sq ft
$859,900
Freehold
8576 DUNBAR WAY
Mission · 4 bed · 2,233 sq ft
$859,90031 6887 204A STREET
Willoughby Heights · 4 bed · 1,426 sq ft
$859,900
Freehold
8548 DUNBAR WAY
Mission · 4 bed · 2,233 sq ft
$869,00019 14391 61A AVENUE
Sullivan Station · 4 bed · 1,903 sq ft
$869,90018 6917 204 STREET
Willoughby Heights · 4 bed · 1,401 sq ft
$869,90077 24951 112 AVENUE
Cottonwood MR · 4 bed · 1,671 sq ft
$869,900112 34588 MARSHALL ROAD
Abbotsford East · 4 bed · 2,082 sq ft
$869,90057 3025 MCMILLAN ROAD
Abbotsford East · 4 bed · 1,709 sq ft
$869,90044720 WILLOWSTREAM ROAD
Lower Landing · 4 bed · 2,306 sq ft
$879,9009 4558 208 STREET
Brookswood Langley · 4 bed · 1,475 sq ft
$879,90032 17429 59 AVENUE
Cloverdale · 4 bed · 1,458 sq ft
317 more active listings are not shown here. Search every active listing . Prices are the list price. Most new homes have GST added on top.
Common questions
How much more does a four bedroom cost than a three bedroom?
$100,500 more at the median, or 8% more, measured across 726 three bedroom and 342 four bedroom active listings. The four bedroom home is also 393 sq ft larger, which is where most of the difference goes.
Is it cheaper to buy four bedrooms further out?
Yes, and the gap is large. Four bedroom homes are heavily concentrated in Surrey, Langley, Abbotsford, Mission, and Delta, where price per square foot runs far below the regional median of $805. Inside Vancouver the four bedroom ground-oriented stock is thin and expensive.
Does price per square foot change with bedroom count?
It falls as the count rises, which surprises people. A larger home costs more in total but less per square foot, because the fixed costs of the land, the foundation, and the services are spread over more floor area. That is why a five bedroom home is rarely five thirds the price of a three bedroom one.
How many bedrooms should I buy?
The data cannot answer that, but it can frame it. Adding a bedroom in this market usually costs less than moving to a more expensive neighbourhood does. If the choice is a four bedroom home further out or a three bedroom home closer in at the same price, that is a commute decision rather than a space decision.
Why are two bedroom homes so thin on the ground?
Because ground-oriented housing is built for families. Only 106 of 1,461 active listings are two bedroom. Buyers who want two bedrooms usually end up comparing against apartments, which this data does not cover.
Why does a bigger home cost less per square foot?
Because a large share of what a home costs to build does not scale with its size: the land, the excavation, the foundation, the water and sewer connections, the permits, and the driveway are close to fixed whether the house is 1,400 square feet or 2,400. Spreading those fixed costs over more floor area lowers the cost per square foot even as the total price rises.
How much bigger is a four bedroom home than a three bedroom home?
393 sq ft bigger at the median. The three bedroom median measures 1,480 sq ft and the four bedroom median measures 1,873 sq ft, so most of the $100,500 price step buys that extra floor area rather than the bedroom itself, and the price per square foot barely changes between the two counts.
What bedroom counts have enough listings to publish a reliable median?
Bedroom counts with at least four active listings are published: this dataset covers 2 bedrooms (106 listings), 3 bedrooms (726 listings), 4 bedrooms (342 listings), 5 bedrooms (134 listings), 6 bedrooms (74 listings). Counts with fewer than four active listings are left off the table because one listing would move the figure too much to trust, and that threshold is enforced the same way across every page in this hub.
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 homes behind these numbers
Every figure on this page comes from listings you can open. Search the full set of newly built townhouses, half duplexes, and row houses, and filter by price, bedrooms, freehold or strata, pets, and parking.