Langley Real Estate: Township vs City Living

The Township

Over 300 square kilometres, from the Fraser River to the US border, most of it farmland in the Agricultural Land Reserve. The housing is concentrated in a handful of communities, each with its own character: Willoughby, the fast-growing townhome and new-home centre; Walnut Grove, the settled 1990s family suburb by Highway 1; Murrayville, the older village around the hospital with large lots; Brookswood, the big treed lots and ranchers; Fort Langley, the heritage village on the river; and Aldergrove to the east. The Township's tax rate, services and planning apply to all of them. If you want a detached home, a yard, trees or acreage, you are buying in the Township.

The City

About ten square kilometres centred on the downtown at 200 Street and Fraser Highway, with the Langley Bypass retail strip, the casino and a dense stock of 1970s to 1990s apartments and townhomes, some of the most affordable in the Lower Mainland. The Surrey Langley SkyTrain ends at 203 Street in the City's downtown, and the City has planned for towers and a transformed core around it. It is a small municipality with its own council, tax rate and services. If you want a condo, a transit future and the lowest entry price in the Valley, you are buying in the City.

The practical differences

• Housing type. Township for detached, townhomes and acreage. City for apartments and older townhomes, with new towers coming.
• Price. The City is the least expensive. Within the Township, Willoughby townhomes are the entry point and Fort Langley, Brookswood and the acreages are the top.
• Taxes. Two different rates, set by two councils, and they move every year. Ask for the actual tax notice on any home; do not assume.
• Transit. The City gets the SkyTrain terminus. The Township gets one station at 196 Street in Willoughby and bus service elsewhere.
• Commute. Both use Highway 1 and the Golden Ears Bridge. Walnut Grove is closest to the highway; Brookswood and Murrayville are furthest.
• Services. Langley Memorial Hospital is in Murrayville. Both municipalities share the Langley School District and the RCMP detachment.

What is changing

The City's downtown will look very different in ten years as the SkyTrain opens and the towers around it rise. Owners of older City apartments near 203 Street are sitting on land that is becoming more valuable, and buyers there should expect construction and change. In the Township, Willoughby keeps building and Brookswood is working through a long-contested plan for more density on its big lots. If you are buying in either for the long term, read the municipality's current plan for the specific neighbourhood, because it tells you what the street will look like when you sell.

Who I steer where

Township: families who need a detached home or a yard, buyers who want trees and quiet, anyone who wants Fort Langley's village life or an acreage. City: first-time buyers and downsizers who want a condo at the lowest price in the Valley, anyone who will use the SkyTrain daily, and investors buying for the long hold near the terminus. If you are between them, the deciding question is usually house versus condo, and the municipality follows from that.

The short version

• Township: large and varied, Willoughby to Fort Langley, detached homes and acreage, one SkyTrain station coming.
• City: small and dense, the cheapest condos in the Valley, the SkyTrain terminus and a changing downtown.
• Different councils, different tax rates. Check the notice.
• House versus condo usually decides it.

I sell in both Langleys and on the Peninsula. If you want the real comparison for a specific budget, send it to me and I will show you what it buys in each.