The tallest building in Waterloo’s Barrel Yards complex stretches 26 storeys into the sky.

Several others cross past the 20-storey mark.

The tower at 144 Park is 19 storeys high, while the Bauer Lofts contain 15 floors.

Throw in other recently or soon-to-be built skyscrapers, and it’s obvious that the penthouse is a burgeoning trend in Waterloo’s real estate market.

And, perhaps unsurprisingly, they’re not cheap.

Real estate agent Jeff Gibson estimates that the cheapest penthouses in the area would fetch about $750,000 on the market – while the most luxurious could be worth double that, or even more.

Onyx, the tallest of the towers in the Barrel Yards, doesn’t figure into those numbers, as its units are rentals.

The 1,600-square-foot, two-bedroom unit rents for $3,500 per month.

People approached by CTV News in the uptown area on Monday expressed surprise at that figure, with one saying it sounded more like the cost of a penthouse condo rental in Toronto.

Not so, says Gibson.

“Relative to the major markets in Canada, penthouses in Kitchener-Waterloo are an absolute deal,” he said.

On the purchase side, he said, penthouses comparable to the ones in Waterloo Region would sell for several millions dollars in larger cities like Toronto or Vancouver.