Contents 9 sections
Expect about $1.0 million to $1.6 million to build a new house on a standard 33 by 122 ft Vancouver lot in 2026, before the land. That’s roughly $400 to $650 per square foot all-in. The median construction value on City permits for new houses has been about $1 million since 2025. BC Assessment’s numbers suggest the real cost of the building runs well above what permits show.
What we found
We looked at all 3,715 new-house permits the City of Vancouver issued from January 2017 to October 2, 2026. Then we matched the older ones to BC Assessment values on the City’s 2026 property records.
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$1.0M
The median construction value on a new-house permit sat between $744,000 and $808,000 every year from 2017 to 2023. It rose to $970,000 in 2024 and about $1 million in 2025 and 2026. The middle half in 2026 ran from $800,000 to $1.3 million.
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1.65×
Permits understate the real cost. For 1,374 houses permitted from 2018 to 2020, BC Assessment now values the building alone at a median $1.34 million, 1.65 times the $778,000 written on the permit. Part of that gap is construction prices rising since then. Part is that permit values run low.
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$3.34M
A new house and its lot are assessed at a median $3.34 million. That’s almost exactly what both halves of a new duplex are worth on the same roll ($3.30 million).
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112
Fewer new houses are being built. Permits fell from 698 in 2017 to 180 in 2025, with 112 so far in 2026. Since 2023, the City has issued more permits for duplexes than for new houses every year.
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142 days
Permits are faster: a median of 142 days in 2026, down from 274 in 2023.
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54%
About half include a suite (54% of 2026 permits), and about a third mention a laneway house.
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61%
Fewer basements. 83% of new-house permits mentioned a basement in 2022, against 61% in 2026.
- Median permit
- Middle half of permits
- 2024 on
T-City analysis of City of Vancouver open data: 3,715 new single detached house permits, January 2017 to October 2, 2026
How big a house you can build
On most Vancouver lots (zoned R1-1), a new house can have a floor space ratio of 0.60. That means total floor area of up to 60% of the lot’s area, counting any finished basement. A duplex on the same lot is allowed 0.70, and a multiplex 1.00. Height is up to 11.5 m and three storeys, with the third storey no more than half the floor below it.
| Lot size | Largest house allowed |
|---|---|
| 33 by 122 ft (4,026 sq ft) | about 2,416 sq ft |
| 40 by 122 ft (4,880 sq ft) | about 2,928 sq ft |
| 50 by 122 ft (6,100 sq ft) | about 3,660 sq ft |
If you keep and add on to a character house, the City can allow 0.65 instead.
What a new house costs, line by line
Here’s a house built to the full 2,416 sq ft (224 m²) on a 33 by 122 ft lot:
| Cost | Amount | Where the number comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Construction | $800,000 to $1,300,000 | Middle half of 2026 new-house permits. Probably low, as explained below |
| City development levies | about $18,200 | $81.13 per m² of floor area, City DCL bulletin, August 2026 |
| Metro Vancouver charges | $21,941 | Sewerage $10,498, water $10,952, parkland $491 per home, 2026 |
| TransLink charge | $3,416 | Per single-family home, 2026 |
| Amenity Cost Charge | about $5,600 | $24.97 per m², since September 30, 2026 |
| Development, building and demolition permits | $11,000 to $15,000 | City 2026 fee schedule |
| Demolishing the old house | $30,000 to $50,000 | Our guide to demolition costs in Vancouver |
| Design, engineering, survey, energy advisor, warranty, insurance | $65,000 to $155,000 | Planning allowance of 8% to 12% of construction |
| Total before land | about $1.0 million to $1.6 million |
That’s about $400 to $650 per square foot. A secondary suite can add regional charges, so check how yours will be counted. Paying for it in stages? See how construction loans and draws work.
What the cost guides say
| Source | Cost per square foot |
|---|---|
| Altus Group 2026 Canadian Cost Guide | $200 to $315 in hard costs for a standard house with an unfinished basement. $490 to $1,250 for a custom house |
| RJR Construction (updated August 2026) | About $350 for a standard spec house |
| Marwynn (July 2026) | $400 to $1,000 or more for a custom house after a teardown |
| Vancouver General Contractors (March 2026) | $1.4 to $2.0 million to build a mid-range 2,400 sq ft house, about $580 to $830 |
The low numbers are hard costs only: no design, no fees, no finishing touches. The high ones are custom homes. Our $400 to $650 all-in range sits between them, which is where most new Vancouver houses land.
Why permit values run low
The value on a permit is the builder’s or owner’s estimate when the permit is applied for. The City charges the building permit fee on that number, so nobody has a reason to round it up. It also leaves out design, fees and anything added later.
BC Assessment values the finished building. We compared the two on 1,374 houses. The building ended up valued at 1.65 times its permit value. For a quarter of them, it was nearly twice or more. Some of that is a few years of rising construction prices between the permit and 2025. Either way, if a quote looks a lot like a permit value, ask what it leaves out.
House or duplex?
On the same lot, a duplex is allowed about 17% more floor area than a house (0.70 against 0.60). And the median duplex permit declared $900,000 of construction in 2025 and 2026, against $1 million for a new house. Finished, a new house with its lot and both halves of a new duplex are assessed at about the same total. The difference is what you do next: a house is one home to live in, while a duplex can be split, with one half sold or rented. Our guide to whether a duplex is worth it runs those numbers.
What we expect in 2027
- Fewer new houses again, around 150 permits for the year, as more owners choose duplexes and multiplexes on the same lots.
- Higher charges, already set. Metro Vancouver’s charges rise on January 1, 2027, adding about $6,400 to a new house. City levies and the Amenity Cost Charge rise 3% from September 30, 2027.
- Construction values near $1 million to $1.1 million on permits. Statistics Canada’s Vancouver index for non-residential construction rose just 0.2% in the second quarter of 2026, after dipping at the end of 2025, so we don’t expect another jump like 2024’s.
Sources
Every outside figure traces to one of these pages, all opened on October 14, 2026. T-City’s own analysis uses the City of Vancouver open datasets. Rates and fee schedules change, so we recheck them for your lot during feasibility.
- City of Vancouver Open Data: Issued building permits
- City of Vancouver Open Data: Property tax report
- Vancouver R1-1 District Schedule (June 2026)
- City of Vancouver Development Cost Levies Bulletin (amended August 25, 2026)
- City of Vancouver Amenity Cost Charges Bulletin
- City of Vancouver 2026 schedule of permit fees
- Altus Group 2026 Canadian Cost Guide, Vancouver ranges via Precedent Developments
- RJR Construction: Cost to build a house in Vancouver
- Marwynn: Teardown vs rebuild cost, Vancouver
- Vancouver General Contractors: Teardown and rebuild cost, Vancouver 2026
- Gibraltar Construction: Construction costs in BC in 2026