Burnaby sits in an interesting spot in the Metro Vancouver market. It is close enough to Vancouver proper to attract buyers who have been priced out of the west side or even East Van, but different enough in its neighbourhood character and price distribution that treating it as one uniform market can lead to some real surprises at the offer stage. If you are working with a Burnaby mortgage broker, the most useful thing that conversation can do is help you understand how your financing actually lines up with what is available in the specific pocket of Burnaby you are targeting.
What the Three Major Areas Actually Mean for Your Mortgage
Metrotown, Brentwood, and Edmonds are all in Burnaby, but they are not the same buying experience, and they are not the same financing experience either.
Metrotown
Metrotown is the most built-out of the three in terms of high-rise condo inventory. You will find a large range of unit sizes and ages, from older concrete buildings to newer towers that have completed in the last few years. Because of that density and price competition, many buyers find that entry-level units in Metrotown can still fall under the $1,000,000 threshold, which matters for down payment purposes. Below that number, the minimum down payment tiers apply: 5% on the first $500,000, and 10% on the portion between $500,000 and $999,999. Cross into seven figures and you are looking at a minimum of 20% down with no default insurance available. That line can shift quickly depending on the unit and floor, so knowing your ceiling before you start touring is worth the time.
Brentwood
Brentwood has seen significant redevelopment over the past several years, and the newer towers there tend to sit at higher price points. A lot of what is currently selling or completing in Brentwood falls in the range where buyers need to be precise about their qualifying position. The stress test applies here as it does everywhere: you qualify at the higher of your contract rate plus 2%, or 5.25%. In a price range where condos are pushing closer to or above $800,000 for a two-bedroom, that qualifying rate does real work on what the lender will approve. Many buyers looking at Brentwood are also dealing with strata fees on newer buildings that can be higher than what you would see in an older Metrotown concrete tower, and those fees affect your Gross Debt Service ratio, which lenders cap at 39%.
Edmonds
Edmonds is often where buyers end up when they have done the math on Metrotown and Brentwood and need more room to work with. It borders New Westminster, which keeps it more accessible from a price-per-square-foot standpoint. Buyers who are purchasing a first property here may also still land within range of the BC first-time buyer Property Transfer Tax exemption, which provides a full exemption on purchases under $500,000 and a partial exemption between $500,000 and $525,000. That is a narrower window in Burnaby than it used to be, but Edmonds remains one of the areas where it is at least worth checking.
A Few Things Worth Confirming Before You Make an Offer in Burnaby
Regardless of which area you are targeting, there are some practical items that tend to trip buyers up in Burnaby specifically:
- Whether the building is on the lender's approved list for default-insured financing, older buildings in Metrotown can sometimes carry restrictions
- The strata's rental restriction bylaws, which affect how lenders view the property if you ever plan to rent it out
- Whether a new-build qualifies for the new-build PTT exemption, fully exempt under $750,000 and partially exempt between $750,000 and $800,000
- The Total Debt Service ratio ceiling of 44%, and how your existing debts interact with the carrying costs on a specific unit
Burnaby is a market where the neighbourhood, the building, and the price point all interact in ways that are worth sorting through before you are under contract. Mack Chaisson works with buyers across Burnaby and can help you understand exactly where you stand before you start making offers.