What a Vancouver Condo Flip Actually Costs, Line by Line
The spread is not the profit
A condo bought at $535,000 and sold at $676,500 has a $141,500 spread. New flippers see that number and start planning. Experienced ones know roughly half of it is already spoken for.
Here is every line that sits between the spread and the money you keep on a Vancouver condo flip, and where each number actually comes from.
1. Buying costs
Property transfer tax — the big one
B.C. charges property transfer tax on the fair market value at these general rates:
- 1% on the value up to and including $200,000
- 2% on the value above $200,000 up to and including $2,000,000
- 3% on the value above $2,000,000
- A further 2% on residential value above $3,000,000
On a $535,000 condo: 1% of $200,000 = $2,000, plus 2% of $335,000 = $6,700. Total $8,700, due on completion.
That is 6.2% of the eventual $141,500 spread, gone before you own a paintbrush. Note also that foreign nationals, foreign corporations and taxable trustees pay an additional property transfer tax on top.
The rest of the buy side
- Legal fees and conveyancing
- Inspection, and a depreciation report review if the strata has one
- Appraisal, where the lender requires it
- Lender and broker fees on short-term or private financing, which is what most flips use
- Strata document review — skip this and you inherit the special levy
2. Holding costs — the ones people forget
These accrue every single day you own the unit, which is exactly why the day count matters twice over.
- Interest. Flip financing is short-term and priced accordingly. This is usually the largest holding cost.
- Strata fees. Payable monthly whether or not anyone lives there.
- Special levies. If one is approved while you hold, it is generally yours.
- Property tax and utilities.
- Insurance — a vacant, under-renovation unit is a different and more expensive risk than an occupied home.
On a ten-day renovation these are small. On a stalled six-month permit they quietly eat the deal.
3. Renovation — and the number to plan for
The renovation budget is the one number every flipper has. It is also the one most likely to move. Strata work adds constraints that a detached renovation does not have: approval for anything touching common property, restricted work hours, elevator bookings, and limited scope on plumbing stacks and windows.
The relevant question is not what the renovation costs. It is what the renovation costs if it takes twice as long — because that scenario carries the holding costs above with it.
4. Selling costs
- Real estate commission — negotiable, and on a mid-six-figure condo the single largest selling line
- Legal fees on completion
- Staging, photography, marketing
- Any price reduction between list and sold, which is a real cost even though it never appears on an invoice
5. The two taxes
This is where Canadian flip math diverges from every American book on the subject.
BC home flipping tax. Owned under 730 days, so on Inder's roughly two-month hold the rate is the full 20%. And note how the province defines the base: proceeds minus cost to acquire minus cost to improve. Commission, legal and carrying costs are not subtracted.
$676,500 − $535,000 − $23,000 = $118,500 taxable income → $23,700.
Federal. Under 365 days, so the profit is deemed business income — taxed at your full marginal rate with no capital gains treatment and no principal residence exemption.
Putting it together
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Sale price | $676,500 |
| Purchase price | − $535,000 |
| Renovation | − $23,000 |
| Gross spread | $118,500 |
| Property transfer tax | − $8,700 |
| BC home flipping tax | − $23,700 |
| Legal, financing, holding, commission, staging | − not yet counted |
| Federal tax on the remainder as business income | − at your marginal rate |
Two named, unavoidable, government-set line items take $32,400 off a $118,500 spread before a realtor, a lawyer or the CRA has been paid. That is 27% of the gross, and it is knowable to the dollar on the day you write the offer.
I have deliberately not invented figures for commission, legal or financing — those vary by deal and quoting a fake average would make this worse, not better. Get real quotes and put them in the model.
What this means for how you buy
- Underwrite to net, never to spread. A $118,500 spread is not a $118,500 outcome and never was.
- PTT is knowable before you offer. Calculate it to the dollar — it is a fixed function of price.
- Holding costs are a function of days, and so is the BC tax. Speed is worth money twice.
- The BC tax base is bigger than your profit. Budget on the province's number, not yours.
None of this makes the deal bad. Inder still cleared a strong result on a first flip. It makes the difference between a deal that works and one that only looked like it did.
See also: the two flipping taxes and how they stack, and why the 70% rule doesn't survive the border.
Sources
- Government of British Columbia — Property transfer tax (general rates)
- Government of British Columbia — BC home flipping tax and How to calculate your BC home flipping tax
- Canada Revenue Agency — Residential Property Flipping Rule
General information as at August 2026, not tax or financial advice. Red Academy is not a tax advisor and makes no income guarantees. Deal figures are one student's reported numbers and are not a projection of your result. Confirm your own costs and tax position before committing.