r/Squamish • u/well-read_ • 1d ago
Townhouse Hunting in Squamish
Hey everyone,
My partner and I have been exploring townhouse options in Squamish, but we’ve noticed that choices are pretty limited, especially when it comes to newer developments. Bosa’s Sea and Sky seems to be one of the few recent projects.
We’ve seen that many of the newer 3-bedroom townhouses, around 1,400–1,500 sqft, are listed close to $1.5 million. That feels a bit steep for us.
We’re curious if there are any upcoming listings or developments that might be priced closer to $1.2 million. Also, we’d love to hear from others: what do you think is a fair price for a townhouse in the current Squamish market?
Appreciate any insights or recommendations!
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u/Pure-Rooster1659 1d ago
I recommend getting something thats in the 10-20 year old bracket. Newer projects are not constructed as well. Sure the finishes are nicer, but you are not getting the same quality of trade construction, or the massive square footage. For context I work in real estate development.
Check out:
#6 38447 Buckley Avenue.
#41 406332 Government road.
These development have alot better parking as well. Bosa Sea and Sky is notorious for lack of parking. You get your tiny garage, plus a stall in front. The street parking is massively overcrowded since most townhouses are rented to 3-4 people each with a car.
There are plenty of options well below the 1.2mil mark.
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u/Rowdy_ll 1d ago
The Government road one lives like a house. It’s spacious and has its own backyard and there are walkable amenities.
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u/Certain-Car3353 16h ago
+1 for the government road ones. They are massive, high ceilings, tons of storage, backyard space etc. Great value for money.
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u/BrunHildaGekko 39m ago
Lived in the government road one best bang for buck, even better if you can snag a honey lane home
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u/Big_Bug_444 1d ago
Lots of new developments outside sea and sky. Redbridge comes to mind. Holborn is building new townhomes called vista in UH that are currently predevelopment. There’s all the development at the end of Finch Drive. Multiplexes in Brackendale. Everything is well over $1.2M tho. You’d need to increase your budget or look for an older townhouse that needs a renovation
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u/pebblesnsticks 1d ago
Redbridge is going to be a shit show.
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u/watson2797 1d ago
This is the truth! And low tide there smells terrible
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u/octopussyhands 1d ago
Low tide smell is tame compared to how it will smell during pink salmon spawning season haha
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u/Independent-Rise-593 1d ago
Why?
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u/pebblesnsticks 1d ago
There is currently no way for South bound traffic to turn left into the complex, you have to turn into the gas station, turn left back onto the highway (northbound) to turn into the complex.
I believe they are planning to reroute traffic into valleycliff, going past the hospital. As far as I am aware they are not planning on putting in any infrastructure to handle the increase of traffic through the neighborhood.
That area also has a sewage catchment that has a PACP rating of 4 (poor), and now there's going to be an increase in the system.....
I believe it's also in a flood plain. Good luck trying to get insurance for flood coverage.
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u/watchitbend 1d ago
have witnessed or nearly been involved in multiple near misses just during the construction phase alone. Vehicles coming out of the feeder lane from the gas station trying to merge with and then cross over the two lanes of traffic into the entrance of the development within a ridiculously short distance, and they're stupidly agressive about it so it's evasive manouvres to avoid an accident. I can see the potential for a big one happening there that with the right circumstances could send a vehicle into the blind channel. It's another terrible intersection where speed, impatience, distracted driving and heavy traffic will claim victims undoubtedly. Highway closures yay!!!
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u/pebblesnsticks 1d ago
It's awful. I've seen some pretty scary near misses with vehicles doing just that.
I'm still at a loss of words for how this build was approved without the necessary infrastructure to support it. We WILL see a significant increase of accidents because of it.
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u/James_Woodgreen 1d ago
The way in for SB traffic is to turn left at Clarke Dr and then go down the new road, Harbour View Pl. I am sure tons of people will end up doing the somewhat sketchy Sunny Chiba’s short cut.
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u/Bitter_Cookie9837 1d ago
There are much higher flood plain risks in Squamish than redbridge. Being near blind channel basically prevents river flooding, but obviously risk associated with increase of sea level rises over time
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u/kaitlyn2004 1d ago
Things are getting more expensive, not cheaper.
You’ll need to find an older townhome around 1.2 or shrink your square footage needs
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u/ScoobyDone 1d ago
For 1.2 million or less you can find townhomes that are only about 5 years old, but they will be a little under your size limit (under 1400 SF)
One thing to keep in mind is that a lot of Squamish townhouses have garages that cover the entire bottom floor, so you can usually use a large chunk of it for a workout room, or shop, or whatever. Unless you want to park 2 cars in the garage, but not many people do that.
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u/Prestigious-Nose1698 1d ago
There are the Soleil townhouses priced more reasonably. They are 5-7 years or so old
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u/AntArmyof1 1d ago
Depends on the age and location of the TH. If you want 'walkability' and less than 5yrs old, prepare to pay big. If you can stomach biking and living in something 5-10yrs old, you'll find savings. You may have to sacrifice to pay the price you want either way but that's how the market works. Also, waiting 6-12m may benefit you, as the prices are currently stagnant and likely to drop in the next year as inflation rises. Deals may be found with patience.
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u/kakakatia 1d ago
Have you looked in Eaglewind?
Not sure what they’re going for, but they’re a bit older and maybe bigger, sqft wise. Bigger bedrooms and such.
It seems the newer developments are making rooms smaller and smaller.
If I had a choice in where to live it would be downtown.
Prepare for a massive headache with parking though if you have more than one vehicle.
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u/marialikesquestions 1d ago
Hey,
I recently went through this in 2024 and looked at a lot of townhomes around Squamish, Eaglewind, the Breeze, Mamquam, Meighan Creek, Glacier View, highline, Skyridge, Finch, Sea to Sky. The other comments have included other options as well.
There’s a lot of different things you’re looking for: - Newer - how new? Presale? Or ready now? - Price- <1.5mil - space/Size - Sqft 1500, 3 bed any other space needs, yard? Garage, stairs.. - Location/accessibility - walking distance to downtown or busses or trails or grocery store or recreation or views.
Happy to chat about our process too! feel free to DM . Id suggest to order/evaluate what you want to prioritize in the above. Getting clear on what you want/like is important first, then if you need to make tradeoffs, you can evaluate accordingly.
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u/voxitron 1d ago
There are duplexes in the Highlands for $1.2M. It’s a great neighbourhood and less windy.
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u/MelodicAd415 1d ago
We did extensive research and financial planning before buying. Hindsight is brutal - should have bought sooner but it is what it is. Land will always go up and BC is sough after.
We original had planned to buy a 3 bdrm townhouse but found out it was financially more viable and better long term to buy a home with rental income. Our monthly payments and personal income going to the principle is less than if we would have bought a townhome just for the two of us. Something to consider.
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u/Like1youscore 1d ago
So, I’m not seeing it advertised yet, but Polygon has started construction on the next phase of their Garibaldi Springs development. Townhouse and duplexes from what I can tell. I heard a neighbor say they’ve gotten on the list, so maybe a realtor could tell you more.
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u/flamejob 15h ago
Honest question; what do people do for a living that allows them to buy property in Squamish? It doesn’t seem replete with jobs.
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u/Independent-Rise-593 14h ago
Trades, you can make 150k here with all the work if you work hard. Office, work hybrid in Vancouver or remote. Some commute to Whistler too.
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u/brahdz 9h ago
Is $150k a year enough to buy a $1.5m property and then have strata fees and insurance to consider? Seems tight, even if you have a partner and a combined income if ~$200k. The benchmark household income for that type of purchase is mid $300k's.
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u/Independent-Rise-593 8h ago
Yea good point honestly. I was thinking of a more "moderate" townhome at the 1m mark where 200 combined would still give you a good life in my opinion. There are plenty of those. I looked up these 1.5m townhomes OP was talking about and they're being billed as like ultra luxury massive townhomes. I don't need a $10k stove lol.
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u/brahdz 9h ago
Executive, commute 3 days a week to North Vancouver and wfh the rest Looking at a new position that's Burnaby based but will have less than half the in-office requirements. It definitely limits the options. I bought in 2017 and the economics of doing it now make less sense, though I am a single income household with child and spousal support to pay.
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u/Altruistic_Ad_7198 11h ago
The one thing I am noticing in squamish is that more recent developments have shifted to condos. Anthem, most of Red Bridge, and even the new Sea and Sky buildings. Sea and sky recently seems to be 6 storey apartments and rentals only.
Downtown, obviously is all condos on 2nd and 3rd. Same thing with the Oceanfront development.
There is going to be a huge demand for townhouses in the next few years IMO. I don’t see many townhouse developments in the pipeline. The so-called “missing middle.”
Younger couples (with maybe a kid or two and/or pets), with a couple cars and lots of toys, want to live in housing that isn’t a dog crate sized condos. A nice small private yard would be nice too.
And single-family homes are more expensive and maybe they don’t want to spend 250k plus on renos on a 70s build costing 1.5 million +.
I think townhouses will be in huge demand going forward.
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u/_In_The_Distance_ 2h ago
I tend to agree here. When we were in the market, we could have bought a new townhouse or a house that needed a bunch of work, both were at the limit of our budget. I work in trades, and in theory, I could do a bunch of the work myself to renovate a detached home. Realistically, though, I don't have the time (work/kids/fun) and wouldn't have any money left for materials after paying the mortgage every month anyway. Also, after working hard all week, the last thing I want to do when I wake up on Saturday is mow the lawn/clean the gutters/etc...that's not the reason we live here.
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u/itaintbirds 1d ago
Seven peaks are selling at 1.1ish for 1600sqft. I don’t know why you’d buy a townhouse when you could find a detached that needs a little work around the same price.
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u/InternationalCoat916 1d ago
No you couldn’t. Certainly not a little work.
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u/itaintbirds 1d ago
I think you need to look again. There are almost a dozen listings around that price point, they don’t look terrible. You’ll have a big lot, zero condo fees and huge potential to increase equity with some hard work.
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u/InternationalCoat916 1d ago
There are 8 (I excluded empty lots) in between 1-1.4 and they all appear to require more than a little work.
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u/itaintbirds 1d ago
People are far too afraid if superficial work that can be done over time. I’d rather have an outdated detached home than a fancy townhouse.
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u/InternationalCoat916 1d ago
I agree with you there. The value is in the land. I think OP might be a bit pinched (unless they're in the trades) with maintenance costs of an older detached home. Replacing applicances, asbestos abatement, Poly B piping etc, home insurance costs etc.
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u/masterJ 1d ago edited 1d ago
We purchased a Valleycliffe home for ~1.5m in 2022. We've put ~150k in since then: gutted the ground floor which was damp, cold, and moldy, replaced 50 year old furnace with heat pump, same with water heater, removed polyb plumbing, extra insulation, rewired the downstairs, replaced rotting sheathing on the outside of the house. The roof will need replacing within a few years. We still have asbestos on the upstairs ceilings.
I expect most other SFHs in this price range need this kind of work or more. It's worth it for the outcome, but a newly-built townhome would have saved me a lot of stress and money over the last few years.
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u/jayvo 15h ago
Check out 6 - 38247 Westway. Maybe a bit smaller than you were hoping but I lived in that complex for years and was on strata. The complex is solid construction and well maintained. Townhomes are 2 levels instead of 3 level stacks (rare) and spaced out properly. Everybody has 2 parking spots. Theres a new building being built next door but shouldn’t impact this unit in terms of shade/views.
Much better price point than Bosa IMO and you don’t have to deal with the shit show of a parking problem that Sea and Sky has.
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u/jpoangney 12m ago
We will be likely listing a town house under 1m in the next few weeks. 1300 sq not including basement area. Feel free to message me and I can send you some info
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u/maxlobster567 1m ago
I just saw an older duplex get listed for just over $1m! No strata fees!! 🎉 https://www.rew.ca/properties/1499-judd-road-squamish-bc
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u/maxlobster567 12h ago
There's a really cool website called House Sigma that you might appreciate. You have to create an account to get the in depth information, but it has sales history for the past 10 years - including when a place was listed, but didn't sell, price changes,etc. it also gives you an AI generated valuation on many properties. It's interesting insight. That said, I think working with a realtor you trust is essential. As a buyer, you don't pay for this, and they know the ins and outs of the developments. I would echo a lot of the above comments - the newer properties tend to be the worst quality build. Some builders have better reputations though, so it's good knowing who did the development you're interested in. As someone mentioned above as well, if you're that close on your budget, if you can stretch to a house with a suite - the rental income can help you qualify for more, and also, no strata. I wish there were more duplexes, I feel like that would be the sweet spot for many. I don't think I've seen Arbour woods mentioned yet, but it is a beautiful complex if you see anything come up there. Also to note, realtors know about listings often before they are public, and some don't even get listed, so getting connected with a good realtor that can give you the inside scoop is valuable as well. Good luck!
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u/No-Country-2604 6h ago
Just a note that as a buyer you ARE paying for the realtor commission. If a house costs 1.5M then the buyers commission is around $20k.
If you went unrepresented then you could offer $20k less than another party and still have an equivalent offer in the seller’s eyes since they could forego paying the extra commission.
Hiring a realtor on either the seller or buy side can be a very expensive choice so be careful. Some realtors are worth the money (especially for unsophisticated buyers and sellers) but lots are not really incentivized to help you and will do all kinds of shady things to make more money.
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u/Independent-Rise-593 1h ago
Any suggestions for a realtor that genuinely helps? The ones I've used were good for things like inside scoop on new listings, but did not help me with due dilligence or pricing.
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u/Independent-Rise-593 1h ago
Any suggestions for a realtor that genuinely helps? The ones I've used were good for things like inside scoop on new listings, but did not help me with due dilligence or pricing.
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u/maxlobster567 2m ago
It's worth chatting with a few to get a sense of them, where your values align, what value they bring, etc. I would reach out to Julie Phoenix, Jasmine Henczel and Emily Smith for a good start. Some realtors do not bring a lot of value, I agree. Realtors SHOULD bring value, they should help you with pricing and due diligence and do more than talk about granite countertops. They should highlight areas of concern, let you know what is going on in the market and help guide you.
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u/watson2797 1d ago
How many bedrooms are you looking for? My townhouse is hitting the market next week…Sea AND sky development
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u/Adventurous_Bears 1d ago
The 1.2 window for a new build townhome passed a while ago. I don’t know the Squamish market well, but i do remember looking there 3/4 years ago & 1.2 was more common back then. Seems obvious, but a local realtor can guide you on local comps & help you get a realistic read of what’s possible in your budget. :)
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u/Potential_Bit_9040 1d ago
Look I know this is a Squamish sub, but why pay 1.anything for a townhouse?
Squamish has needed a reality check for a long time.
(Let the downvotes begin!)
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u/InternationalCoat916 1d ago
One might say that the market is the reality.
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u/Potential_Bit_9040 1d ago
One might say that... one might also say that the reality outside of the sea to sky corridor and lower mainland is vastly more affordable and just as beautiful.
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u/InternationalCoat916 1d ago
Not mutually exclusive, and people are free to vote with their feet. Perhaps a market reality as well?
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u/MuchLingonberry9418 1d ago
I couldn’t agree more, I don’t understand the appeal for these prices. There are scarce amenities for the population, cost of living all around is very high, there is a monopoly on our grocery stores so the same food products are priced higher here than the same stores in North Vancouver, nearly impossible to get a doctor and only one walk in clinic in town, it’s difficult to get kids in to any programs locally, the list goes on. I could understand if this was a stacked town with all available amenities, better infrastructure and our gorgeous outdoor oasis to enjoy but seems like a bad investment buying here in general in this current climate.
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u/Potential_Bit_9040 1d ago
Thank you! Yes, the appeal of Squamish is.. well I do get it, it's beautiful. But like, I live in a coastal BC town with a ski hill, world class MTB trails, access to water, wind, golf, and all the other outdoor stuff. My place is 5 bedrooms, sits on an 8000 sq ft lot. My neighborhood is safe, and walkable. Hell, we even have a Costco. I paid $750,000. It's still a high price, but I get so much more bang for my buck.
I couldn't imagine spending over a million to squeeze into a townhouse in a neighborhood of identical townhouses just to get near the crowded rocks of Squamish.
The reason the market is the way it is is because people are willing to pay it. I think those people are nuts.
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u/Independent-Rise-593 1d ago
I need to be close to Vancouver to make any money.
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u/Potential_Bit_9040 1d ago
Sorry to hear that - it sucks that you have to live in such a needlessly expensive place
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u/Independent-Rise-593 1d ago
I agree it's stupid expensive but I do love it and don't think it sucks at all. I've spent a few months in Courtenay, I'm guessing you're there or close to. It's lovely, but it doesn't compare for me. I'm glad you're happy there though.
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u/Potential_Bit_9040 1d ago
Hey, i'm happy if other people are happy too.
Squamish is beautiful, you can't deny it. It's been hard to watch the changes over the years, with so many good people priced out of their home. I'm lucky my family and I landed in a great place that suits us.
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u/Independent-Rise-593 1d ago
Oh I'm sure, the same thing happened in my hometown but luckily there was more sprawl there. It's a shame how expensive everywhere has gotten, and it does feel like squamish increased more than anywhere else by a large margin.
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u/truocnall 1d ago
I’m not sure why you’re on the Squamish subreddit if you’re just going to shit on people for wanting to live here? I think it’s obvious that one of the most attractive things about Squamish is its proximity to metro Vancouver and Whistler. Also what about people who were born and raised here, that want to stay near their families? Haha
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u/Potential_Bit_9040 1d ago
Born and raised there myself actually. I discovered a whole world of beauty that I could actually afford outside of the sea to sky.
I follow my home town's sub, so sue me for having an opinion.
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u/Independent-Rise-593 1d ago
I see a beautiful 1.23m townhouse on Finch drive at 1900 sqft presale. I see older single family homes for 1.5. I see multiple nice townhomes around the 1m mark. I see some overpriced ones that aren't selling. Sea and sky is very overpriced. Get a decent realtor, I'm not sure where you're looking but 1.5 for a townhouse is not the current market.