Market briefs, neighborhood guides, and multiplex explainers - written for homeowners, not algorithms.
Should you buy a Burnaby fixer-upper and renovate or pay up for move-in-ready in 2026 — renovation cost reality, permits, the renovate-versus-redevelop question under Bill 44, and when the fixer wins.
How to sell a Burnaby home with tenants in place — BC rules for showings and ending tenancy on sale, the 4-month notice and compensation, vacant possession vs selling with tenancy, and common mistakes.
Metro Vancouver prices fell again in June 2026 while sales rose. Here's why I told Burnaby buyers to wait until after July — and why owner-occupiers are now in a safe zone.
How presale condo deposits work in Burnaby towers — typical staged amounts, where your money is held under REDMA, the rescission period, and what happens if a project is cancelled.
A side-by-side look at the true monthly cost to own a Burnaby condo versus a detached house in 2026 — mortgage, strata fees, taxes, insurance, and utilities laid out honestly. Jersey Li's line-by-line comparison.
Buying your next Burnaby home before your current one closes usually means a bridge loan. Here is how bridge financing is priced, the timing mechanics, and the risk of buying first versus selling first.
The best Burnaby neighbourhood for a young professional depends entirely on what you optimise for: fastest commute, best café culture, lowest entry price, or highest walkability. This guide breaks down four Burnaby neighbourhoods by what they actually deliver for early-career buyers and renters — with honest trade-offs for each.
If you're investing in Burnaby real estate, the first decision isn't which neighbourhood — it's which strategy. Condo buy-and-hold, detached buy-and-hold, and multiplex redevelopment produce very different capital requirements, cap rates, and risk profiles in 2026. Here's the honest comparison, with a decision table by investor profile.
Three layers every Burnaby landlord must know in 2026: provincial RTB rules (2.3% rent increase cap, notice requirements, deposit rules), Burnaby's new Tenant Protection Bylaw that took effect July 1 2026, and how to handle disputes at the Residential Tenancy Branch. A practical compliance guide for investors and accidental landlords alike.
Burnaby has 2,010 active listings and an absorption rate of 6.8% — well inside buyer's market territory. Homes are selling in 40 days on average, and prices have drifted another 4.1% lower than the prior 90-day average. Here's what the July data means if you're buying, selling, or waiting in Burnaby right now.
In Burnaby's current buyer's market, you have time to inspect properly — but most buyers don't know what to look for beyond the obvious. Here are 10 specific things to check at every Burnaby open house, with the questions to ask the listing agent and the red flags that most buyers miss.
BC strata insurance has eased since the 2020 spike, but the deductibles have not. Here is what a high deductible exposes you to, why you need loss assessment coverage, and what to check before you buy.
Downsizing from a Burnaby detached home to a condo is one of the most financially significant moves a Burnaby homeowner can make — and in 2026's buyer's market, the timing matters more than most expect. Here's how to sequence the sale and purchase, which Burnaby neighbourhoods suit downsizers best, and what to check before buying a strata unit.
A multiplex that sells and rents well is not just about unit count. Here is what good Burnaby multiplex design looks like in 2026 - unit mix, entrances, parking, heat pumps, and layouts buyers actually want.
If you are not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and you want to buy in Burnaby, three separate rules can apply at once. Here is the plain-language version for 2026, and why legal advice is essential. Jersey Li's guide to how the rules fit together.
Walk score and SkyTrain distance are not soft lifestyle perks in Burnaby - they show up in the price. Here is how proximity to transit and the new TOD tiers change what a lot is worth.
Full staging is not always worth it on a Burnaby sale. Here is the opinionated, practical version from a licensed Burnaby REALTOR® — the prep that returns the most, what to skip, and how to spend on the right buyer rather than a magazine photo.
Selling a Burnaby property can trigger capital gains tax, but the principal residence exemption shelters most home sales. Here is how it works in 2026, why a rental suite or flip changes things, and the inclusion rate after the proposed increase was cancelled.
Buying a Burnaby home with an existing tenant in the basement suite means you inherit the tenancy, the deposit, and BC's rules on vacant possession. Here is how the four-month landlord-use notice works, and how lenders treat that rental income.
Combining adjacent Burnaby lots can unlock townhouse or condo density, but the premium you pay and the holdout neighbour can sink the math. Here is when assembly beats a single-lot multiplex, and how Bill 44 and transit zoning changed the calculation. Jersey Li's honest take on when it pencils and when it does not.
An assignment lets you sell your presale contract before the building finishes, but the GST and income-tax treatment trips up most Burnaby sellers. Here is how assignments really work in Brentwood and Metrotown towers, the developer fees, and the risks on both sides.
June 2026 was the first month in a long while where every property type posted more sales than a year ago — detached, townhouse, and apartment all up. Yet benchmark prices are still down about 6% year-over-year and flat month-to-month. Here's what that gap between more buyers and unchanged prices means if you're on either side of a Burnaby deal. Jersey Li's data read for July 2026.
Overpricing a Burnaby home costs more than time. Here is how buyers and the MLS react, how a real comparative market analysis works, and why chasing the market down loses money.
The 2026 rebate stack for switching to a heat pump in Burnaby - CleanBC, BC Hydro, FortisBC, and federal programs - plus payback, resale value, and why new multiplexes now need one.
An honest rent-vs-buy analysis at 2026 Burnaby prices, rents, and rates. The break-even horizon, the opportunity cost of a down payment, and when renting is genuinely the smarter move. Jersey Li's numbers-first take on the real choice.
A subject-free offer can win a competitive Burnaby property, but it strips away your financing, inspection, and title protections. Here is how to de-risk before you go in without conditions.
A realistic worked feasibility for a four-unit Burnaby multiplex - land, soft costs, hard costs, financing, GST, sale revenue, and the margin left over. Illustrative numbers, real structure. Jersey Li walks through the numbers line by line.
How much down payment you actually need at Burnaby prices, the 5/10/20% tiers, and the FHSA, RRSP plan, and gifted-money options that help you get there in 2026. Jersey Li on stacking every option available to Burnaby buyers.
Schools, parks, transit, and what you actually pay. A practical, opinionated guide to the Burnaby neighbourhoods that work best for families in 2026, from Deer Lake to the Heights. Jersey Li's neighbourhood picks for 2026.
A brand-new Burnaby condo and a 20-year-old concrete one can cost the same per month but be very different buys. Here is how price, GST, strata fees, and building risk really compare in 2026.
A depreciation report tells you what a Burnaby strata building will need to fix and when, and who pays. Here is how to read one, what BC's new rules require, and the red flags I look for.
The stress test makes Burnaby buyers prove they can afford a payment higher than the one they actually get. Here is how that shrinks your buying power in 2026, with real numbers at local price points. Jersey Li's breakdown of what it means in practice.
Four separate taxes now target vacant or quickly-sold property, and they can stack on the same Burnaby owner. Here is who pays the speculation tax, the federal vacancy tax, the new BC flipping tax, and the federal anti-flip rule — plus the exemptions that matter. Jersey Li's plain summary of all four.
The price gap between a detached house and a townhouse in Burnaby is wide enough to change your whole life plan. Here is the honest 2026 comparison — carrying costs, strata realities, lifestyle, and the redevelopment upside Bill 44 added to detached lots. Jersey Li's trade-off guide for Burnaby buyers.
A home inspection report can run forty pages and bury the one thing that should change your mind. Here are the Burnaby-specific problems I watch for — drainage, old plumbing, building envelope, oil tanks, soft soils — and when a finding is a fix versus a reason to walk.
Two near-identical Burnaby houses on the same street can sell for noticeably different prices, and the reason is often invisible — they sit in different school catchments. Here is how catchments move value, how to verify one, and the risk most buyers never check. Jersey Li on the detail most buyers skip.
The 2026 Burnaby residential mill rate is 0.2978% ($2.978 per $1,000 of assessed value) — among the lowest in Metro Vancouver. Burnaby realtor Jersey Li explains how your bill is calculated, the July 2 payment deadline, the Home Owner Grant, and what to budget as a buyer.
Moving to Burnaby from Alberta, Ontario, or anywhere east of the Rockies means more than a bigger price tag. The neighbourhoods, the strata reality, the transit-first lifestyle, and a few BC-specific rules all catch newcomers off guard. Here is what I tell out-of-province buyers before they start shopping.
A basement suite that helps cover the mortgage is one of the most common reasons people buy in Burnaby. The income is real, and so are the parts buyers underestimate — the legal status, the tax, the landlord reality. Here is the honest accounting on what a mortgage-helper suite adds and what it actually asks of you.
Freehold means you own the land and building outright — no fees, no bylaws, full control and full responsibility. Strata means you own your unit; the strata corporation owns everything else and charges monthly fees to maintain it. Here is what that difference means in practice for Burnaby buyers in 2026, including the new multiplex units that can be either.
Bill 44 gave most Burnaby owners a choice they never had before — add a laneway house behind the existing home, or tear down and build a multiplex. They sound similar and they are not. Here is how I help owners figure out which one their lot, their budget, and their goals actually support. Jersey Li's framework for making the call.
Buying a presale condo in Burnaby is not the same purchase as buying a resale unit, and in 2026 the gap matters more than usual. After two local presale projects ran into insolvency, here is how I walk buyers through the real differences in risk, cost, timing, and what you actually end up owning.
Every July, Burnaby owners pull up their BC Assessment number and treat it as the price their home would sell for. It almost never is. Here is what the assessment actually measures, why it lags the market by more than a year, and how I price a home against what buyers will really pay. Jersey Li on why the assessment number misleads.
A newly built multiplex unit in Burnaby is taxable, and the 5% GST quietly reshapes both a builder's margin and a first buyer's budget. Here is how the tax works, where the New Housing Rebate lands, and the April 2025 first-time-buyer break that almost nobody has priced in correctly.
Prices are down 7-8% from peak, inventory is the highest since 2021, and rates are in the mid-3s. Here is the honest take on whether 2026 is your window — and who it is actually right for. Jersey Li's read on the 2026 Burnaby market.
Spring sells more homes than winter — but timing matters far less than pricing and prep. Here's what the Burnaby calendar actually does, and the timing that genuinely moves your outcome.
Three SkyTrain lines meet here, and a $7-billion redevelopment is rising on top of them. Lougheed is quietly becoming one of the most strategic addresses in Metro Vancouver. Jersey Li's case for why this corridor matters now.
The Burnaby discount to Vancouver is real, but it is not free money. Here is what you actually trade for it, and when the move makes sense.
A balanced market punishes guesswork and rewards preparation. Here is what a well-run Burnaby sale actually looks like — from the honest market read through pricing, prep, and timing. Jersey Li's process for getting a Burnaby home sold right.
Burnaby is where a lot of first-timers can still actually get in. Here is the honest, step-by-step version of how to do it without overpaying or overextending. Jersey Li's guide for Burnaby first-timers.
The price on the listing is not what you need in the bank. Here is the real closing-cost math for a Burnaby purchase in 2026, including the tax most buyers underestimate. Jersey Li's full closing-cost breakdown.
For years Edmonds was the affordable corner of Burnaby nobody talked about. A 50-acre master-planned community next to the SkyTrain is changing that fast.
Two neighbours on the same street can have completely different development ceilings — and the dividing line is often a 400-metre circle drawn around a transit stop. Here is how that line works and why it matters more than the headline.
The mall is only the start. Metrotown is being rebuilt into Burnaby's official city centre, and that changes the calculation for everyone who owns or buys nearby.
The zoning lets you build three to six units. The financing is what decides whether you should. Here is the part most Burnaby owners miss — and why crossing five units can change the whole structure of the deal. Jersey Li on what the bank actually looks at.
Burnaby's quietest luxury pocket trades on relationships, not listings. Here is how it actually works, and what that means if you want in or out.
Hastings Street from Boundary to Gamma is the most underrated stretch in Burnaby. Here is how I actually spend a Saturday there, and why buyers keep coming back.
A working agent's guide to the cafes I actually use between showings, sorted by what I need at the time, and what they quietly tell me about each neighbourhood.
The towers get the headlines. The walk-up blocks and side streets around them are where the real Burnaby pricing story is playing out.
Three doors, three very different outcomes. Here is the framework I walk Burnaby owners through before they commit to selling, holding, or building. Jersey Li's decision guide for Burnaby lot owners.
BC's small-scale multi-unit housing law put up to four units on most Burnaby lots by default, and up to six near transit. Here is what that does, and does not, do to your property's value. Jersey Li's plain-English breakdown for Burnaby owners.
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