The benchmark price for a detached home in Vancouver currently is $2.6 million.
That's the measure from the Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board for what a typical house in the city of Vancouver proper costs in early 2025.
So what does that $2.6 million buy? We went through listings from Metro Vancouver, across B.C., Canada, the U.S., and other global cities to find detached houses on the market for a comparable price (within a few thousand Canadian dollars).
Comparing the average house in Metro Vancouver
The majority of the houses listed for sale in Vancouver near the benchmark price are either part of a land assembly or the listing explicitly suggests the lot could be redeveloped into something new (Slide 1).
Essentially they're older houses without much historic value with four to six bedrooms on lots ranging from 3,500 to 9,000 square feet.
Looking outside the municipality's borders, lots get larger and redevelopment becomes less of a selling point.
In North Vancouver, there aren't many options for $2.6 million. However, one is a brand-new 2,165-square-foot, four-bedroom house in the Norgate neighbourhood on a 5,000-square-foot lot (Slide 2). Nothing fancy by North Vancouver standards, but a new, serviceable house.
It's a very similar situation in Richmond, where there are several houses in the Terra Nova area, each with five bedrooms of a similar size, but on lots of about 5,700 square feet (Slide 3).
Heading further into Metro Vancouver, the houses are similar, but the lots get a bit bigger (which often means a larger yard). For example, there's a five-bedroom house on an 11,800-square-foot lot in Burnaby built in the 1950s (Slide 4).
In Surrey, there's a similar house on an 11,000-square-foot property (Slide 5); it's a little newer than the one in Burnaby, and includes a few more features (like a bar and games room).
Tucked away in one of the smaller municipalities in Metro Vancouver is this 5,900-square-foot house on a 1-acre lot selling for $2.6 million in Belcarra (Slide 6).
The benchmark price in Vancouver versus the rest of B.C.
Victoria's market isn't too different from the situation in Vancouver, which is why this four-bedroom place in Oak Bay (Slide 7) is listed for $2.6 million.
Further afield, someone (in theory) could trade their average Vancouver home for an oceanfront house on Hornby Island with an indoor pool and 8.29 acres of land (Slide 8).
For those more interested in mountains than oceans, there's a two-storey lakeside cabin outside Sun Peaks Ski Resort (Slide 10). And for those into valleys, not peaks, a house with 6.5 acres of vineyard is on the market north of Kelowna (Slide 9).
Real estate in the rest of Canada
Calgary's real estate market is getting hotter but the benchmark price in Vancouver is still enough to buy this 4,470 square-foot house in YYC, with features like a wall-mounted waterfall by the bathtub, 20-foot ceilings, and an office (Slide 11).
Outside of Edmonton, there's this 21-acre estate with a four-bedroom house (Slide 12). While the house isn't huge, there's also a legal rental suite and a three-car garage.
In Toronto, housing prices are also quite high, and lots are often small. For example, this three-bedroom house on a 4,200-square-foot lot is going for $2.598 million (Slide 13).
Just outside of Toronto, your dollar goes farther. This 150-year-old house on a 50-acre lot (with a pond, detached garage, and more) is on the market (Slide 14).
In the nation's capital, less than 7.5 km from Parliament Hill, sits this 10,400-square-foot lot with a four-bedroom house featuring a home theatre, gym, and pool (Slide 15).
In Montreal, this 125-year-old home isn't very large but has plenty of character (Slide 16).
And just outside of Halifax is this 5,800-square-foot lakefront house sitting on more than 2.4 acres of land (Slide 17).
This may look like a hotel (Slide 18), but it's a residential property in New Brunswick with 11 bedrooms. It's a little more than the benchmark price for a detached single-family home in Vancouver (it's listed at just under $2.7 million) but the Maritimes doesn't have much at the $2.6 million target.
Houses in the U.S. selling for about CAD $2.6 million
While many Canadians are trying to have less to do with the U.S., there's plenty of real estate south of Canada to explore. It should be noted CAD $2.6 million is a bit above USD $1.815 million (as of publishing).
For those looking to stay close to Vancouver, that's more than enough for this 14-acre lakefront property near Anacortes with a three-bedroom house (Slide 19). The house isn't big, but it has a couple of other buildings that can be used as workshops, and a horse barn.
In Seattle, there's this 100-year-old 4-bedroom house (Slide 20) selling for just under Vancouver's benchmark price.
Further south, in San Francisco, a place reminiscent of the Full House home is on the market (Slide 21), with three bedrooms and three bathrooms.
Over in Texas, this Austin house hidden in a forest looks like a film set (Slide 22), and the asking price for this "Colonial masterpiece" in Kansas City (Slide 23) was just reduced.
New York is another high-priced real estate market, but CAD $2.6 million is still enough for some decent places, like this 5-bedroom house in Brooklyn (Slide 24). And if Coney Island sounds good, this 4,500-square-foot home with six bedrooms is on the market (Slide 25).
Elsewhere (in the middle of Michigan) lies this 5-bedroom mansion, with 11,000 square feet of living space on a 3-acre property (Slide 26). Its features a formal dining room, a home theatre, a huge pool, a room that's essentially a little pub, a games room, a six-car garage, and more.
In Hawaii, this house surrounded by tropical forest backs onto a waterfall (Slide 27).
Compared to the global real estate market
Could one sell their single-family detached house at the benchmark price in Vancouver and buy a European castle?
Yes.
Like this one, just outside of Assisi in Italy (Slide 28). Or this French one (Slide 29).
Elsewhere, in France, you can get an entire Cistercian Abbey on a 56-acre piece of land for less than the price of a single-family home in Vancouver (Slide 30).
Over on the British Isles, there's this "country house" in Lincolnshire, with nine bedrooms, nine bathrooms, and nine acres of land (Slide 31).
Looking for something a bit newer? There's this Irish house with a beach (slide 32).
And for those looking for a beach, there are a couple of tropical islands, like this one in Honduras (Slide 33) or this one in Brazil (Slide 34).
There are lots of other options around the world, like this five-storey five-bedroom place outside of Acapulco in Mexico (slide 35), or this Japanese house with a very traditional design (slide 36), or an entire Thai resort in Phuket (Slide 37).
