Contents 9 sections
It can be, just not always the way people expect. On Vancouver’s 2026 assessment roll, the two halves of a new duplex are worth a median 1.7 times the typical house in the same neighbourhood, about $1.36 million of added value. Building one costs roughly $1.2 to $1.7 million before land. If you already own the lot and keep one half, the numbers usually work. If you’re buying an east side lot today to build and sell both halves, they’re close to break-even.
What we found
From T-City’s analysis of City of Vancouver open data, October 2026:
- 1,129
Duplexes permitted since 2017 are finished and split into two strata titles on the 2026 roll.
- 1.70×
Both halves together are assessed at a median 1.70 times the typical house in the same BC Assessment neighbourhood. The middle half of duplexes fall between 1.57 and 1.84 times.
- $1.36M
The value a duplex adds over that house has a median of $1.36 million. In 46% of cases it tops $1.4 million, and in 23% it’s under $1.1 million.
- +$220K
Duplexes built with secondary suites added about $220,000 more than those without ($1.52 million against $1.30 million).
- 375
Duplex permits peaked at 375 in 2022. From January 1 to October 2, 2026, the City issued 131, and for the first time more permits went to multiplexes on low-density lots (157) than to duplexes.
How we measured it
We took all 1,902 new-duplex building permits the City issued between 2017 and October 2, 2026, and matched their addresses to the City’s 2026 property tax data, which carries BC Assessment values as of July 1, 2025. We could match 1,129 of them to a finished duplex split into two strata titles, and 986 of those had complete values for the comparison. For each one we added both halves together and compared the total with the median assessed value of an R1-1 house in the same BC Assessment neighbourhood.
Assessed values aren’t sale prices, and they trail the market by six months or more. We used them anyway because they cover every property, good sale or bad, so nothing gets cherry-picked.
A new duplex is worth about 1.7 times the house next door
Across the city, a finished duplex is worth a median $3.30 million for both halves. The typical house it’s compared with is worth a little under $2 million. That gap is what you’re really building when you build a duplex. (For the value of each half by neighbourhood, see what new duplexes sell for.)
- Build cost before land, $1.20M to $1.73M
- Adds more than the top of that range
- City median, $1.36M
T-City analysis of City of Vancouver open data · 986 completed duplexes, 2026 roll (values as of July 1, 2025) · neighbourhoods with 15+ duplexes
The ratio is highest on the east side. Hastings-Sunrise duplexes come in at 1.80 times the typical house, Riley Park at 1.78 and Grandview-Woodland at 1.72. On the west side it drops: Kerrisdale 1.40, Oakridge 1.20. Kitsilano is the exception at 1.85.
But ratios don’t pay the builder. Dollars do, and construction costs about the same per square foot on either side of Main Street. In dollar terms the west side wins: Kitsilano duplexes added a median $2.34 million, Arbutus Ridge $1.87 million and Dunbar-Southlands $1.67 million. Sunset added $1.08 million and Oakridge $0.78 million. West side lots are often bigger, so their builds cost more too, but not $1 million more.
What it costs to get there
Here’s a 33 by 122 ft lot in Hastings-Sunrise, the neighbourhood with the most recent duplexes in our data. The duplex uses the full 0.70 FSR, about 262 m² (2,820 sq ft), with a basement.
| Cost | Amount | Where the number comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Construction | $900,000 to $1,300,000 | The median value declared on 2025 and 2026 duplex permits is $900,000. Declared values tend to run low, so we carry a higher top end. Altus Group’s 2026 cost guide puts Vancouver row townhouses with unfinished basements at $195 to $295 per sq ft in hard costs. |
| City and regional development charges | $70,800 | 2026 rates, from our duplex cost guide |
| Amenity Cost Charge | about $6,500 | $24.97 per m², in effect since September 30, 2026 |
| Development, building and demolition permits | $11,000 to $15,000 | City of Vancouver 2026 fee schedule |
| Design, engineering, survey, warranty, insurance, legal and strata | $70,000 to $155,000 | Planning allowance: 8% to 12% of construction |
| Construction loan interest | $40,000 to $80,000 | Planning allowance: 14 to 18 months of draws. See how construction loans work |
| Selling both halves | about $100,000 | Planning allowance: 3% to 3.5% for commissions and legal |
| Total before land | $1.2 million to $1.73 million |
The typical Hastings-Sunrise house is assessed at $1.67 million. The typical finished duplex there is assessed at $3.02 million for both halves, so it adds about $1.34 million. Put that next to the table and you can see the problem: in 2026, on that side of the city, the added value roughly equals the cost of building.
Three ways it plays out
Same Hastings-Sunrise lot, same costs. The comparison is against selling the house as it stands, net of about $50,000 in selling costs.
| Plan | What you end up with | Against selling the house as is |
|---|---|---|
| Sell the house as it is | About $1.62 million in cash | Baseline |
| Build and sell both halves | $1.29 million to $1.82 million in cash, about two years or more later | About $330,000 worse to $200,000 better |
| Live in one half, sell the other | A new home worth about $1.5 million, plus anywhere from $170,000 owing to $360,000 in hand | About the same, with a new house and no move |
| Keep both halves as rentals | Two new homes and up to two suites, with a mortgage on most of the build | Depends on rents, rates and tax. Run it with an accountant |
The third row is why most of our clients build. A duplex is a way to swap an old house for a new one on the same street, paid for by the half you sell. It’s rarely a way to get rich on a single lot.
When a duplex isn’t worth it
- You’d have to buy the lot at today’s prices and sell both halves. On the east side that’s a bet on prices rising over a project that runs two years or more from design to sale.
- The lot is narrow, steep or full of protected trees. Every extra cost comes straight off a thin margin.
- A multiplex fits. On lots of 10 m frontage and 306 m² or more, three or four strata homes can beat two. See Duplex vs triplex vs multiplex.
- You plan to rent everything. If you build homes to rent, CRA’s self-supply rule can make you pay GST on their fair market value when the first tenant moves in. Get tax advice before you sign a lease.
- You can’t carry a gap. If one half sells slowly, you’re paying interest on a finished home. Make sure the plan survives six months of that.
What we expect in 2027
Our read of where things go next, based on the data above:
- Fewer new duplexes. Permits fell from 375 in 2022 to 237 in 2025, and multiplexes took the lead in 2026. We expect fewer than 200 duplex permits in 2027, with the bigger lots going to multiplexes.
- Higher fees, already on the books. Metro Vancouver’s charges rise on January 1, 2027, adding about $12,800 to a standard duplex. City levies and the Amenity Cost Charge go up 3% a year from 2027.
- Slightly lower assessments. The 2027 roll is valued as of July 1, 2026. With Greater Vancouver’s townhouse benchmark 4.4% lower in September 2026 than a year earlier, we expect new half-duplexes to be assessed a few percent lower again.
- A better case for keeping a half. With build-and-sell margins this thin, the owners who come out ahead will mostly be the ones who live in a half or rent it.
Sources
Every outside figure traces to one of these pages, all opened on October 5, 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 (1,902 new-duplex permits, 2017 to October 2, 2026)
- City of Vancouver Open Data: Property tax report (2026 roll, BC Assessment values as of July 1, 2025)
- Altus Group 2026 Canadian Cost Guide, Vancouver ranges via Precedent Developments
- City of Vancouver Amenity Cost Charges Bulletin
- City of Vancouver 2026 development and building permit fee schedule
- Greater Vancouver Realtors September 2026 statistics, summarized by Mike Stewart (released October 2, 2026)
- Tax explainer: GST/HST self-supply rules for builders
- T-City: What it costs to build a duplex in Vancouver (development charges and the January 1, 2027 increase)
- T-City: Selling a new duplex in BC (builder licensing, owner-builder limits, disclosure statements, flipping tax)