Brentwood vs Metrotown: Which Burnaby Hub Suits Your Family?
Burnaby grew up around its SkyTrain stations, and two town centres stand out for families shopping for a brand-new home: Brentwood in the north and Metrotown in the south. Both put shopping, transit, and high-rise living within a short walk, but they're not interchangeable, and the right one depends on what your family actually does day to day.
Metrotown: the established hub
Metrotown has evolved from a post-war industrial area into Burnaby's largest, most amenity-dense town centre, Metropolis mall anchors it, and it's the biggest shopping destination in the region outside downtown Vancouver itself. It's centrally located with quick SkyTrain access both into downtown Vancouver and across the rest of Burnaby, and the building stock spans decades, so you can compare an older, larger-floorplan tower against a newer one on neighbouring blocks.
Best for: families who want everything, groceries, transit, schools, recreation centres, within a short walk, and who don't mind mixing older and newer building stock while they shop.
Brentwood: the newer build-out
Brentwood has seen the most concentrated new construction of Burnaby's town centres in recent years, with towers built up around the Brentwood Town Centre mall and SkyTrain station as the area has been steadily redeveloped. If a brand-new building with modern floorplans and amenities matters more to you than an established neighbourhood feel, this is where that trade-off tips in your favour.
Best for: families prioritizing newer construction and modern building amenities, who are comfortable with a town centre still mid-transformation rather than fully built out.
The trade-off in plain terms
Metrotown gives you more choice and a more finished neighbourhood today; Brentwood gives you newer buildings and a town centre still actively growing around you. Neither is the "better" hub in the abstract, it comes down to whether you'd rather shop an established area with more inventory variety, or buy into a newer build-out with more of the neighbourhood's future still ahead of it.
What we'd tell you before you write an offer
Walk both at a normal weekday hour, not just a weekend, Metrotown's mall traffic and Brentwood's ongoing construction each affect daily life differently than a Saturday afternoon visit suggests.
Plan your next step
Use the home-buying guide to organise your search. Prepare your property questions, check the actual neighbourhood routes, and keep evidence separate from preferences when comparing homes.
