Property snoop: What $649,000 buys across Canada this week

1. A picturesque A-frame on an island near Vancouver

Address: Lot 39 Passage Island
Where: West Vancouver Price: $649,900 Specs: 3 bedrooms, 2 bath With benchmark prices of detached homes in Vancouver sitting well north of $1 million, the city’s stratospheric real estate isn’t for the faint of heart. But this three-bedroom A-frame on Passage Island offers geographical nirvana for a fraction of the usual cost: sitting at the mouth of Howe Sound against towering mountains, it’s just a 10-minute zip by boat from the mainland and shares its postal code from the country’s most expensive enclave, West Vancouver.

2. A brand-new, contemporary home in Edmonton

Address: 11115 126 St. Where: Inglewood, Edmonton Price: $649,000 Specs: 3 bedrooms, 3 baths The Inglewood neighbourhood was originally owned by a Hudson's Bay fur-trading employee who worked at nearby Fort Edmonton, so the area is steeped in history. This contemporary gem features all the modern conveniences of a new build (upstairs laundry, LED electric fireplace that changes colour!). The trendy restaurants two blocks away on 124th Street offer a convenient spot for a bite to eat before an Oilers game in the nearby new Ice District.

3. A sprawling estate outside of Montreal