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For the benchmark price of one Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­home, here’s what you could buy around the world

A French castle, a Brazillian island, or a Thai resort are all on the market for the same as a house in Vancouver

The benchmark price for a detached home in Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­currently is $2.6 million.

That's the measure from the Greater Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­Real Estate Board for what a typical house in the city of Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­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 Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­near the benchmark price are either part of a land assembly or the listing explicitly suggests the lot  (Slide 1).

Essentially  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, , four-bedroom house in the Norgate neighbourhood on a 5,000-square-foot lot (Slide 2). Nothing fancy by North Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­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 , but on lots of about 5,700 square feet (Slide 3).

vancouver-comparitive-metro-area-house-map
Houses around Metro Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­selling for about $2.6 million Canadian, the same as the benchmark price for a detached house in Vancouver. Brendan Kergin/V.I.A./Google Maps

Heading further into Metro Vancouver, the houses are similar, but the lots get a bit bigger (which often means a larger yard). For example, on an 11,800-square-foot lot in Burnaby built in the 1950s (Slide 4).

In Surrey,  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 Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­is this 5,900-square-foot house on a 1-acre lot  (Slide 6).

The benchmark price in Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­versus the rest of B.C.

Victoria's market isn't too different from the situation in Vancouver, which is why this (Slide 7) is listed for $2.6 million.

Further afield, someone (in theory) could trade their average Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­home for with an indoor pool and 8.29 acres of land (Slide 8).

For those more interested in mountains than oceans, there's a  outside Sun Peaks Ski Resort (Slide 10). And for those into valleys, not peaks, a is on the market north of Kelowna (Slide 9).

Real estate in the rest of Canada

vancouver-comparitive-western-canada-house-map
Houses around western Canada selling for about $2.6 million Canadian, the benchmark house price in Vancouver.  Brendan Kergin/V.I.A./Google maps

Calgary's real estate market is getting hotter but the benchmark price in Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­is still enough to buy  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  (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, is going for $2.598 million (Slide 13).

Just outside of Toronto, your dollar goes farther. This (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 with a four-bedroom house featuring a home theatre, gym, and pool (Slide 15).

In Montreal,  but has plenty of character (Slide 16).

And just outside of Halifax is sitting on more than 2.4 acres of land (Slide 17).

This may look like a hotel (Slide 18), but 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.

vancouver-comparitive-eastern-canada-house-map
Houses around Eastern Canada selling for about $2.6 million Canadian. Brendan Kergin/V.I.A./Google maps

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  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 (Slide 20) selling for just under Vancouver's benchmark price.

vancouver-comparitive-usa-house-map
Houses around the U.S.A. selling for about $2.6 million Canadian, the same as the benchmark price in Vancouver. Brendan Kergin/V.I.A./Google maps

Further south, in San Francisco, a  home is on the market (Slide 21), with three bedrooms and three bathrooms.

Over in Texas, this looks like a film set (Slide 22), and the asking price for  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  (Slide 24). And if Coney Island sounds good, with six bedrooms is on the market (Slide 25). 

Elsewhere (in the middle of Michigan) lies , 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,  backs onto a waterfall (Slide 27).

Compared to the global real estate market

vancouver-comparitive-europe-house-map
Houses around Europe selling for about $2.6 million Canadian, the same as the benchmark price in Vancouver. Brendan Kergin/V.I.A./Google maps

Could one sell their single-family detached house at the benchmark price in Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­and buy a European castle?

Yes.

Like in Italy (Slide 28). Or (Slide 29).

Elsewhere, in France, you can get an entire for less than the price of a single-family home in Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­(Slide 30).

Over on the British Isles, there's , with nine bedrooms, nine bathrooms, and nine acres of land (Slide 31).

Looking for something a bit newer? There's  (slide 32).

And for those looking for a beach, there are a couple of tropical islands, like (Slide 33) or  (Slide 34).

There are lots of other options around the world, like this five-storey five-bedroom place  (slide 35), or this  traditional design (slide 36), or an (Slide 37).

vancouver-comparitive-world-house-map
Houses around the world selling for about $2.6 million Canadian, the same as the benchmark price in Vancouver. Brendan Kergin/V.I.A./Google maps