Nancy Che Vancouver Real Estate Advisor

10/14/2026

Think Burnaby is just one real estate market?

Think again. 👀

Three different parts of Burnaby are telling three very different stories right now.

And one of them is particularly interesting.

This is why I always recommend looking beyond city-wide numbers when evaluating a specific neighbourhood or property.

Which part of Burnaby do you think is behaving differently?

10/13/2026

This is the question I get most from families relocating here on a work permit, and I want to be straight about the fact that it is not settled.

The tax is not in dispute. BC's additional property transfer tax is 20 percent in Metro Vancouver. On a two million dollar purchase, that is four hundred thousand dollars. It is not a footnote and it is not something you want to discover late.

The exemption is where it gets murky. One published source, updated in May, names three conditions: employed in British Columbia, filing BC income tax, and living in the home you buy. Another credible source reads the exemption much more narrowly, closer to provincial nominee status only, under which a work permit on its own would not qualify you.

I am not going to pretend I can resolve that for you in a caption. What I can tell you is that when two published sources disagree, the confusion is not your fault, and the answer is not something to assume in either direction.

Put it to the province in writing. Have a BC real estate lawyer confirm it before you write an offer, not after. This is exactly the kind of item my Pre-Offer Risk Audit exists to force into the open early, while it is still a question rather than a four hundred thousand dollar problem.

Moving here on a permit and want to talk it through? Message me or text 604-256-9186. Happy to make a lawyer introduction.

Sources: bestrates.ca BC foreign buyer tax guide, updated May 7 2026. NerdWallet, foreign buyer taxes in British Columbia. Not tax or legal advice.

10/09/2026

If your Burnaby home is worth more than $2M, this number should get your attention. 👀

There’s a really interesting divide happening around the $2M price point.

In Burnaby East, homes above $2M are behaving differently from homes below $2M even when you’re comparing the same type of property.

And that’s exactly why looking at the overall Burnaby market can sometimes be misleading.

🏡 Buying? Your price range matters.
💰 Selling? Your pricing strategy matters.
📊 Both? The neighbourhood-level numbers matter.

The question is: Where does your home sit?

Watch the Reel for the breakdown.

10/06/2026

Who should NOT live in Buckingham Heights? 👀

I’d probably suggest looking elsewhere if you:

🚶 Want to walk everywhere
🚗 Commute downtown every day and don’t want to drive
🍽️ Want restaurants, shops and activity right outside your door

But if you want space, privacy and a quieter residential setting in Burnaby, Buckingham Heights may be worth a closer look.

The best neighbourhood isn’t the same for everyone.

It’s the one that fits your lifestyle.

Would you live here?

10/06/2026

The foreign buyer ban expires January 1, 2027. That is five months from now, and I am getting the same question weekly, so here is the honest breakdown.

What is confirmed. The federal ban on foreign nationals buying residential property is set to expire January 1, 2027. It was extended once already and the extension runs out at the start of next year. That date is real.

What is not confirmed. What replaces it. Reporting from July says Ottawa is exploring a framework closer to Australia's, where foreign buyers could purchase new construction while resale homes stay restricted. That is reporting, not legislation. Nothing has been finalised, and anyone telling you what the rules will be in January is guessing.

And some scale, because this part gets lost. Foreign buyers made up roughly 1.1 percent of BC home sales in 2021. Prices still rose more than 20 percent between 2021 and 2026. The ban was never the main thing moving this market, and its expiry probably will not be either.

If you are trying to decide between buying this October and waiting until spring, that is a real conversation and I am happy to have it. Message me.

Sources: CIC News. Canadian Mortgage Professional, July 13 2026. BLG insight, July 2026. Not tax or legal advice.

10/02/2026

Is $2M becoming an important dividing line in Burnaby’s detached market? 👀

The numbers are showing a noticeable difference depending on which side of that price point you’re looking at.

And that matters whether you’re buying, selling, or simply trying to understand what’s happening in Burnaby real estate right now.

I break it down in this Reel.

Would you have guessed $2M was the line?

10/01/2026

Here's something that surprised a lot of people this month. 🏡

In August, more homes sold on Vancouver's West Side, fewer were listed, and they sold faster. And yet the benchmark price dropped 8.7%.

How? It depends on your price range. Detached homes between $1.5M and $3M were competitive. Homes above $4M were barely moving. Averaged together, you get one number that doesn't really describe either one.

A few other things caught my eye:
🔹 Dunbar was the only West Side area with a positive benchmark, up 1.9%
🔹 East Side detached homes took 37 days to sell, up from 27 last year
🔹 The West Side is catching up fast on days on market

If you're thinking about buying or selling, ask for the numbers for your price range in your neighbourhood, not the city headline.

I walk through all of it in my latest video.

Which surprised you more, the West Side speeding up or the East Side slowing down? 💬

Thinking about buying or selling a Vancouver home this fall? Book a...

09/29/2026

Let’s settle this one. 👇

Would you rather have:

🏡 A bigger lot and a quieter street?

OR

🚶 Walkability to shops, restaurants and everyday amenities?

That’s one of the lifestyle trade-offs to consider when looking at Buckingham Heights.

There’s no right answer, it depends on what matters most to you every day.

Which would you choose?

A️. Space + privacy
B️. Walkability

09/29/2026

Two cities come up in almost every relocation conversation I have. Seattle and Calgary.

Here is where they actually sit, per an August 5 snapshot of cost of living indices. Seattle is about 33 percent more expensive than Vancouver. Calgary is about 6 percent cheaper. Gas makes it concrete: $1.35 a litre in Calgary against $1.98 here.

So yes, Calgary is cheaper. I sell Vancouver and I am still going to tell you that, because you will find out anyway and I would rather you hear it from me first.

What I would add is that six percent on cost of living is not the number that decides a move. Housing is. Everything else is rounding, and people who move for the rounding usually move back.

The comparison worth doing is the specific one. The actual house you would buy in each city, at the actual price, with the actual commute attached, and what your life looks like on a Tuesday in each place. That gets you an answer. Index comparisons get you a talking point.

If you are weighing this right now, message me. I will give you the honest version of both sides.

Source: Expatistan city comparisons, August 5 2026 snapshot. Cost of living indices, not housing prices.

09/23/2026

Here’s something I want every home buyer to think about:

Are you buying the house or are you buying the land?

You can change the kitchen.
You can renovate the bathrooms.
You can replace the floors.
You can even rebuild.

But you can’t change the lot.

And you can’t move the street.

That’s why the land and location deserve serious attention when evaluating a home in Burnaby or anywhere in Metro Vancouver.

What would you prioritize: the house or the lot?