First-Time Home Buyer Port Moody Guide for 2026

What do Port Moody condos and townhouses cost right now?

Greater Vancouver REALTORS® (GVR) is the real estate board for Port Moody. GVR describes a benchmark price as the estimated sale price of a typical property in that market. These are the September 2026 benchmarks from GVR's monthly report, released October 2, 2026, where the area is called Port Moody.

The townhouse benchmark is $264,700 above the apartment benchmark. For a first-time buyer that gap matters twice: a bigger down payment, and no first-time buyer tax saving at the townhouse benchmark, as the next section shows. The yearly changes come from GVR's price index, which tracks the price of a typical home over time.

GVR's sales tables report the area as Port Moody/Belcarra, which includes the village of Belcarra, so the sales figures in this paragraph cover both. GVR recorded 21 apartment sales there in September 2026, against 18 in September 2025. Townhouse and other attached sales were 9, against 13 a year earlier. The median apartment sale price was $710,000, which is $33,800 above the benchmark. A median is the middle sale price of the month, so it moves with the mix of homes that sold. GVR reports a median only for areas with 20 or more sales, so September has no attached median for Port Moody/Belcarra. With so few sales, we suggest asking for recent sold prices in the exact building or complex before you set an offer price.

How far does the first-time buyer tax exemption go in Port Moody?

In BC you pay property transfer tax (PTT) when a home is registered in your name. The rate is 1% on the first $200,000 of the price and 2% on the part from $200,000 to $2,000,000. First-time buyers who qualify pay no tax on the first $500,000 of the price, which saves up to $8,000. The full exemption applies when the fair market value, the price a willing buyer would pay a willing seller on the open market, is $835,000 or less. Between $835,000 and $860,000 the Province reduces the exemption in proportion, and at $860,000 it ends.

To qualify, you must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, have lived in BC for the year before you register the home or filed at least 2 BC tax returns in the last 6 years, and never have owned a principal residence anywhere in the world. You must also move in within 92 days of registration. Read our PTT exemption guide for the full rules.

Here is what the exemption does at each September 2026 Port Moody benchmark:

The townhouse benchmark is $80,900 over the $860,000 cut-off, so a first-time buyer at that price pays the full tax. In Port Moody the first-time buyer exemption mostly applies to condos. A qualifying buyer still gets the full exemption on a townhouse priced at $835,000 or less, so ask what is for sale in that range before you decide against townhouses. At $835,000 the tax is $6,700 after the exemption.

One other BC rule can help with a townhouse. The newly built home exemption removes the tax on a newly built home with a fair market value up to $1,100,000, and phases out by $1,150,000. It applies only to the first registration of a newly built home. You must be a citizen or permanent resident and use the home as your principal residence. Ask your lawyer or notary whether a home you are looking at counts as newly built before you rely on it.

What does a $675,000 Port Moody condo cost to buy?

This example uses a price of $675,000, close to the Port Moody apartment benchmark of $676,200 in September 2026. It is an illustration based on the benchmark, and real prices vary by building, size and age. The mortgage rate is an example rate of 4.50%. Confirm current rates with a mortgage broker before you rely on any of these figures.

With less than 20% down you will need mortgage loan insurance. First-time buyers can take a 30-year amortization, meaning the loan is paid off over 30 years. CMHC's premium for a 30-year loan of more than 90% of the price is 4.20%, and in this example the loan is 93.70% of the price. The premium is added to the mortgage. The monthly payments use Canadian semi-annual compounding.

Lenders also check that you could make the payment at a higher rate, called the stress test. The test rate is the higher of your rate plus 2% or 5.25%. At a 4.50% example rate that is 6.50%, and the test payment is $4,128 a month. Read our stress test guide, then ask a mortgage broker what it means for your income and debts.

The townhouse version looks different, because the first-time buyer exemption no longer applies. This second example uses $940,000, close to the $940,900 townhouse benchmark, at the same example rate. It is also an illustration, and it assumes a resale home, so the newly built home exemption does not apply.

Compared with the condo, the townhouse needs $26,500 more in down payment and $13,300 more in transfer tax, before legal fees and moving costs. The monthly payment at the example rate is $1,253 higher. In this example the loan is 92.66% of the price, so the same 4.20% premium applies. We suggest pricing both home types with your mortgage broker before you start touring.

Two federal accounts can help with the down payment. A First Home Savings Account (FHSA) gives you $8,000 of contribution room a year, up to a lifetime limit of $40,000. The Home Buyers' Plan lets you withdraw up to $60,000 from your RRSP. The Canada Revenue Agency says you can use both for the same home if you meet the conditions for each.

Which Port Moody stations and neighbourhoods fit your day?

We suggest choosing in this order: your daily trip, then your budget, then the building. The City names two SkyTrain stations in Port Moody, Moody Centre and Inlet Centre. Both are on the Millennium Line, which TransLink runs from VCC-Clark in Vancouver to Lafarge Lake-Douglas in Coquitlam. Moody Centre is between Moody and Williams streets, and Inlet Centre is at Ioco Road and Barnet Highway.

TransLink's chart of train times lists 27 minutes from Moody Centre to Commercial-Broadway and 29 minutes from Inlet Centre. From Commercial-Broadway the Expo Line takes 10 minutes to Waterfront. Moody Centre to Lougheed Town Centre takes 8 minutes, and to Brentwood 19. Time spent walking to the station, waiting and changing trains is extra.

Moody Centre is also a West Coast Express station, at 65 Williams Street. This commuter train runs on weekdays only: to downtown in the morning and back in the afternoon and evening. Morning trains leave Moody Centre at 6:15, 6:45, 7:15, 7:45 and 8:15 a.m. and reach Waterfront 25 minutes later. Evening trains leave Waterfront at 3:50, 4:20, 4:50, 5:30 and 6:20 p.m. and reach Moody Centre 24 minutes later. If you work outside those hours, plan your trip on SkyTrain instead.

The City publishes walking times from each station. From Moody Centre it lists Rocky Point Park at 10 minutes and the St. Johns Street shops at 8. From Inlet Centre it lists Suter Brook Village at 5 minutes, City Hall and the library at 10, and the Recreation Complex at 12. The City also says Eagle Ridge Hospital, at 475 Guildford Way, is a 15-minute walk from Inlet Centre.

The City is planning more homes near both stations. Port Moody 2050, its new Official Community Plan, was adopted on April 28, 2026. Under the Province's transit-oriented area rules, which allow taller buildings near transit hubs such as SkyTrain stations, land zoned for housing within 800 metres of Moody Centre or Inlet Centre station can allow up to 20 storeys within 200 metres, up to 12 storeys from 201 to 400 metres and up to 8 storeys from 401 to 800 metres. The Province has also set the City a five-year target of at least 1,694 completed homes by September 2028.

These sub-areas are a starting point. Each card opens the live listings for that sub-area:

If you have children or plan to, check schools before you choose a street. School District 43 serves Port Moody, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Anmore and Belcarra. It runs 47 elementary schools (kindergarten to grade 5), 14 middle schools (grades 6 to 8) and 9 secondary schools (grades 9 to 12) across those communities. Its school list includes Port Moody Secondary, which offers the International Baccalaureate program. Your catchment school, the school assigned to your home address, is based on where the child and parent live, and the district's School Locator shows it for any address.

A place at a school outside your catchment depends on space. The district fills those places by random draw and gives children in the catchment first priority. For the 2027-2028 school year, applications for programs of choice such as French Immersion run from January 7 to January 13, and cross-catchment applications from February 5 to February 10. SD43 is also turning the old Ioco School in Port Moody, where construction began in 1921 and which closed as a school in 2005, into a childcare centre, with completion planned for fall 2027.

What should you check in a Port Moody condo or townhouse?

In the 2021 census Port Moody had 33,535 residents, against 33,551 in 2016, and 13,110 occupied homes on 25.85 square kilometres. Of those homes, 3,940 were single-detached houses and 2,605 were row houses. Apartments in buildings of five or more storeys numbered 1,895, and apartments in buildings under five storeys 3,210. Renters lived in 24.5% of homes, and 40.9% of homes were condominiums.

A condo or townhouse is usually a strata home. You own your unit and share the costs of the building with the other owners through the strata corporation. Before you make your offer firm, we suggest reading the minutes, the budget, the depreciation report (a study of the repairs the building will need and what they may cost) and the Form B information certificate, a form from the strata that lists its budget, rules and other details. Since July 1, 2024, BC strata corporations with five or more lots must get a depreciation report every five years and can no longer vote to put it off. Since April 1, 2023, the Form B must include a summary of the strata's insurance. Our strata documents guide lists what to ask for.

Since November 24, 2022, no BC strata corporation can have a bylaw that restricts renting out units. Bylaws that limit or ban short-term rentals are still allowed. The only age restriction a strata can set is 55 and older.

Ask about parking for any home near the stations. The City removed minimum resident parking requirements for new buildings in the transit-oriented areas around Moody Centre and Inlet Centre, so ask whether the unit you like comes with a parking stall and how that stall is assigned. In the City's permit areas near the stations, street parking is limited to four hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Residents of multi-family buildings there can buy one permit per household for $72.80 a year, and street spaces go to whoever arrives first. If you drive an electric car, BC rules let an owner ask the strata to install a charger, and the strata must respond within 3 months.

Ask about two natural risks as well. The City's hazards page says streams run for "nearly 80 kilometres" through Port Moody, and heavy rain can cause local flooding and debris flows. It also says many residents live next to greenbelts, parks and forest, where fire is a risk in hot summer months. If a home you like is near a creek or backs onto forest, read the insurance summary on the Form B, ask your own insurance agent about cover, and ask your lawyer to review it before you remove conditions.

How does Port Moody compare with nearby cities on price?

Many buyers price Port Moody against its neighbours and against Fraser Valley cities. These are September 2026 benchmark prices from GVR and the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB). Both boards publish MLS® Home Price Index benchmarks.

For condos, Port Moody's apartment benchmark is $92,800 under North Vancouver. It is $13,800 above Burnaby North, $36,100 above Coquitlam, $96,300 above New Westminster, $118,000 above Pitt Meadows and $126,200 above Port Coquitlam. Against the Fraser Valley, it is $150,300 above Langley, $162,800 above Maple Ridge, $228,600 above the City of Surrey and $264,700 above Mission. FVREB's City of Surrey figure combines North Surrey, Central Surrey, Cloverdale and South Surrey, and leaves out White Rock.

Townhouses show the tax difference. Port Moody's townhouse benchmark is $289,500 under North Vancouver and $35,700 under Coquitlam, and $60,500 above Burnaby North. New Westminster's benchmark of $854,200 falls in the range where the exemption is reduced. The Port Coquitlam, Langley, City of Surrey, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge and Mission townhouse benchmarks are all under $835,000, between $106,600 and $322,900 below Port Moody, so a qualifying first-time buyer at those prices keeps the full $8,000 PTT saving.

Travel time also matters. On the West Coast Express, TransLink's morning schedule shows 25 minutes from Moody Centre to Waterfront, 30 minutes from Coquitlam Central, 36 minutes from Port Coquitlam, 46 minutes from Pitt Meadows, 56 minutes from Port Haney in Maple Ridge and 75 minutes from Mission City. A home closer to downtown costs more and shortens the daily trip. Which one fits depends on where you work, your budget and how often you go into Vancouver.

What are your next steps?

FRIVE is a BC-licensed team based in the Fraser Valley. We help first-time buyers compare cities on the same numbers, and the order below is the one we suggest:

• Check whether you qualify for the first-time buyer PTT exemption, and remember it ends at $860,000, below the Port Moody townhouse benchmark.
• Open an FHSA early, because your first $8,000 of contribution room starts in the year you open it, and read how the Home Buyers' Plan works with it.
• Get a pre-approval from a mortgage broker and run the stress test on your own numbers.
• Read the strata documents for any building you like before you make an offer firm, and ask how parking is assigned.
• Browse current Port Moody listings by sub-area.

If you want to talk it through, book a chat with the FRIVE team. We can set Port Moody beside Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and the Fraser Valley cities for your budget, and we never push you to write an offer before you are ready.