Vancouver Townhome & Duplex Market Update: August 2026

412 townhomes and duplexes sold across Metro Vancouver in August. That is three more than sold in August last year, and it makes attached homes the only property type Greater Vancouver Realtors tracks that finished the month ahead of 2025.

Three sales is not a boom, and we will not pretend otherwise. But almost every other line in the August report points downward, so a segment that held its ground deserves a second look if you are shopping for a townhome, a duplex, or a home in a new fourplex.

As always, this update covers townhomes, duplexes, and multiplex homes only, the category GVR calls attached. We are leaving condos and detached houses out of it.

The August 2026 numbers at a glance

• Typical townhome or duplex price (the MLS® Home Price Index benchmark for attached homes): $1,028,800, down 4.4% from August 2025 and down 0.2% from July 2026.
• Townhome and duplex sales: 412 in August 2026, up 0.7% from the 409 sales in August 2025. In July 2026 the count was 454.
• Sales-to-active-listings ratio for townhomes and duplexes: 15.1%, inside the band GVR calls balanced.

Source: Greater Vancouver Realtors, August 2026 MLS® Residential Market Report, released September 2, 2026. Attached is GVR's category for townhomes, duplexes, and multiplex homes. One wrinkle worth knowing, and GVR says it in its own footnote: the townhouse price index leaves duplexes out, even though the sales count includes them.

What that benchmark means for a townhome or duplex buyer

The benchmark is GVR's estimate of what a typical townhome or duplex is worth across Metro Vancouver, with the grandest and the roughest homes filtered out. It is built for comparing one month against another. No listing you tour will match it exactly.

At $1,028,800, the benchmark gave up 0.2% between July and August. Over twelve months it is down 4.4%, the smallest annual decline among the three property types GVR publishes a benchmark for. Stretch the view out and the picture changes again. The same index is up 8.9% over five years and up 50.9% over ten.

Region-wide averages hide a lot, though. In August the townhouse benchmark ran from $704,100 in Maple Ridge to $1,334,900 in Vancouver West, with Vancouver East at $985,400, Burnaby North at $888,200, Coquitlam at $987,900, Richmond at $1,022,200, and North Vancouver at $1,247,400. Moving your search one municipality over is usually worth more than months of waiting for the market to come to you.

Our read: a 0.2% monthly move is close to flat, and flat is a friendlier market to shop in than falling. Sellers still anchored to last summer's asking prices are now a full year behind the index, and that gap is where the negotiating happens.

Buyer's or seller's market for townhomes and duplexes?

One number answers this better than price does. The sales-to-active-listings ratio is the share of homes on the market that found a buyer during the month, and GVR publishes it for each property type.

Townhomes and duplexes came in at 15.1% in August. GVR's own guidance is that prices tend to face downward pressure when the ratio stays under 12% for a sustained stretch, and upward pressure when it holds above 20% over several months. So 15.1% sits in the balanced band, nearer the middle than either edge, and above the 12.3% ratio for the market as a whole.

At the negotiating table this is straightforward. You have time to think, you can ask for a home inspection and a financing condition, and you can walk away. What you cannot do is expect a seller to panic. At 15.1%, they are not panicking.

How much choice you have

Roughly one listed townhome or duplex in seven sold during August. That is a market with real selection and no rush in it.

Fewer homes arrived, though. Sellers listed 844 attached homes in August, down from 1,108 in July and under the 862 listed in August 2025. Listing seasons wind down every summer, so the July to August drop is ordinary. The year-over-year figure is the one we watch, and it says supply here is thinning rather than piling up.

Sales volume tells you where to look. Richmond led in August with 62 attached sales, then Vancouver West at 56, Vancouver East at 53, and Coquitlam at 49. Burnaby recorded 39. Over June to August, 1,393 attached homes sold across the region, up from 1,341 in the same stretch of 2025. Through the first eight months of the year the count is 3,368, against 3,404 a year ago. Steady, in a year when steady is unusual.

The rate backdrop

The Bank of Canada held its policy interest rate at 2.25% on September 2, and the rate sat at 2.25% all the way through August. That decision landed after the August housing numbers closed, so it did not shape them. It does shape what you can borrow this month. The next scheduled announcement is October 28, 2026.

A steady rate is worth more to a buyer than it gets credit for. Your pre-approval keeps its value and your monthly payment estimate stops moving under you. If you are aiming to buy this autumn, refresh it before that October date. We have written separately about how rate holds work on a pre-sale purchase and about choosing between a fixed and a variable mortgage.

If you're buying this month

Some concrete moves for September:

• Refresh your pre-approval before October 28. The rate has been at 2.25% since before August began, so today's numbers are the ones to lock in.
• Ask how long the home has been listed. In a 15.1% market, a home that has sat for two months and a home listed last week deserve very different offers.
• Compare municipalities before you compare homes. The benchmark gap between Maple Ridge at $704,100 and Vancouver West at $1,334,900 is larger than anything you will negotiate on a single address.
• Keep your conditions. Balanced markets are where inspections and financing conditions survive, and August was one.
• Look at what is finished and ready to walk through. Browse our current properties and tell us which floor plans work for your family.

If you're waiting

Plenty of buyers are sitting this year out. Here is our honest read on both sides.

The case for waiting: the benchmark has fallen 4.4% over twelve months with no sign of turning, Metro Vancouver still held 15,798 listed homes of all types at the end of August, 26.2% above the ten-year seasonal average, and the Bank of Canada meets again on October 28. Another few soft months is a reasonable bet.

The case against: townhome and duplex sales rose year over year in August while sales across the region fell 4.6%, the monthly price move was 0.2%, and new attached listings came in below last August. A segment where sales firm up while supply thins does not usually keep handing buyers discounts.

Our read: the price you are waiting for is probably worth a few thousand dollars, and the home you want is one of a few dozen in the whole region. We would spend the energy on finding the right home rather than the right month.

What we're watching next month

• The Bank of Canada's October 28 decision, and what it does to monthly payments.
• Whether the attached sales-to-active ratio stays above 12%. Held below that line, GVR expects prices to face real downward pressure.
• September attached sales against September 2025. August's small gain is one month. Two would start to look like a pattern.
• New attached listings. August's 844 came in under last August's 862, and a second month below would tighten choice.

What this comes down to

• The typical Metro Vancouver townhome or duplex cost $1,028,800 in August 2026, down 4.4% from a year earlier and down 0.2% from July.
• 412 townhomes and duplexes sold, up 0.7% from the 409 sold in August 2025. Attached was the only property type GVR tracks with a year-over-year sales gain.
• The sales-to-active-listings ratio for attached homes was 15.1%, inside GVR's balanced band of 12% to 20%.
• 844 attached homes were newly listed in August, under the 862 listed in August 2025.
• The Bank of Canada's policy rate is 2.25%, unchanged through August and held again on September 2. The next decision is October 28, 2026.
• Our read: a good month to buy a home you like, and a poor month to hold out for a discount the numbers do not support.

Frequently asked questions

What was the typical townhome or duplex price in Metro Vancouver in August 2026?

The typical townhome or duplex in Metro Vancouver cost $1,028,800 in August 2026. That is the MLS® Home Price Index benchmark for attached homes, published by Greater Vancouver Realtors on September 2, 2026. It fell 4.4% over the year and 0.2% from July. Individual listings sit above and below it.

Did townhome and duplex sales go up or down in August 2026?

Townhome and duplex sales went up in August 2026. Greater Vancouver Realtors recorded 412 attached sales, three more than the 409 sold in August 2025, a gain of 0.7%. Attached homes were the only property type GVR tracks with more sales this August than last. Sales did fall from July, when 454 attached homes sold.

Is it a buyer's or seller's market for townhomes and duplexes right now?

It is a balanced market for townhomes and duplexes, leaning slightly to the seller. The sales-to-active-listings ratio for attached homes was 15.1% in August 2026. Greater Vancouver Realtors treats a ratio under 12% held for several months as downward pressure on prices, and one over 20% as upward pressure. At 15.1%, neither side has the upper hand.

What is the sales-to-active-listings ratio?

The sales-to-active-listings ratio is the share of homes on the market that found a buyer during the month. For attached homes in Metro Vancouver it was 15.1% in August 2026, so roughly one listed townhome or duplex in seven sold. Greater Vancouver Realtors publishes it monthly, and it signals negotiating power better than price alone.

What is the MLS® Home Price Index benchmark?

The MLS® Home Price Index benchmark is the estimated price of a typical home in one category, calculated by Greater Vancouver Realtors. It strips out the unusually grand and the unusually rough, so month-to-month moves reflect prices rather than which homes happened to sell. For attached homes in August 2026 the benchmark was $1,028,800.

What is the difference between a townhome, a duplex, and a multiplex home?

A duplex is two homes in one building, a townhome is a ground-oriented home sharing side walls with its neighbours, and a multiplex is a small building of three to six homes on one lot. Greater Vancouver Realtors groups all of them under attached, which recorded 412 sales in August 2026. Its townhouse price index, though, excludes duplexes.

Why did prices fall in August if townhome and duplex sales rose?

Prices fell in August because the change in sales was tiny while selection stayed wide. Attached sales rose by three homes year over year, to 412, which is nowhere near enough to move pricing. Metro Vancouver still had 15,798 homes of all types listed at the end of the month, 26.2% above the ten-year seasonal average.

What is the Bank of Canada's interest rate, and when is the next decision?

The Bank of Canada's policy interest rate is 2.25%. The Bank held it there on September 2, 2026, and it sat at 2.25% through August, so August's housing numbers were set against a steady rate. The next scheduled announcement is October 28, 2026. Refresh your pre-approval before that date.

Should I buy a townhome or duplex now, or wait for prices to fall further?

That depends on your own timing more than on the market's. Prices eased 4.4% over the year to August 2026, and the monthly move was only 0.2%, so waiting a month buys you very little. Attached sales also held up while the wider market slowed. If the payment works and the home fits, we would buy the home.

Is August a good month to offer below the asking price on a townhome or duplex?

August left room to negotiate on townhomes and duplexes, though less than the annual decline suggests. The benchmark slipped only 0.2% from July, and the 15.1% sales-to-active ratio sits in balanced territory. A well-supported offer under asking is reasonable on a home that has sat, and unwise on one listed last week.

Sources

• Greater Vancouver Realtors, August 2026 MLS® Residential Market Report (news release, published September 2, 2026)
• Greater Vancouver Realtors, August 2026 statistics package (MLS® Home Price Index tables, Sales Facts and Listings Facts by area)
• Bank of Canada, interest rate announcement, September 2, 2026 (accessed September 2, 2026)
• Bank of Canada, policy interest rate and announcement schedule (accessed September 2, 2026)

Ready when you are

Numbers set the backdrop. They will not tell you whether the third bedroom is big enough for your mother. If you are weighing a townhome, a duplex, or a home in a new multiplex this autumn, tell us what your family needs and we will say honestly what August's market lets you get. Start with our current properties, or get in touch and we will do the digging with you.