Greater Victoria’s residential real-estate market posted significant gains in February as average prices for single-family homes and condominiums surged to their second-highest February peak since the historic values of 2022, according to the latest Victoria Real Estate Board data.

 

Property sales from Sooke to Sidney jumped 12% compared to February of 2024 to post 528 transactions compared to 470 last year (a jump of 58 deals), VREB reports via Multiple Listings Service purchases. It should be noted that the month also had a period of snowy weather, which is known to hamper home showings and purchasing activity in Victoria’s mild-weathered market.

 

Nonetheless, single-family homes reached a noteworthy average price in February of $1,306,345 across 234 sales, a price jump of 5% compared to one-year-ago when 224 sales were recorded via MLS at an average of $1,244,639. The median price this February was $1.14 million, a $15,000 increase over last year’s $1.125 million. Only February of 2022 had a higher average price, of $1.41 million, and the same goes for the median (at $1.28 million).

 

The pre-spring housing market is behaving differently than it has over the last several years, says Victoria real-estate agent Ryan Cook (see website) at brokerage Re/Max Camosun, with activity from last fall, plus January and February, suggesting a three-year market lull may be reaching its end as interest rates dampen and prices show signs of a sustained rebound.

 

“When you consider how experienced buyers are responding to today’s market, the mood has markedly shifted,” Cook says, adding that “buyers who have gone through the home buying process before are not hesitating to make immediate offers upon viewing a home or even unconditional offers, knowing that interest rates are highly favourable currently, and inflation from the last few years has yet to be priced into current prices. This means if you don’t act quickly, competing buyers can sneak up on you.”

 

Condominiums had an even stronger month in February than single-family homes, posting a 10.5% average price increase to $659,479 compared to $596,896 last year, over 192 sales versus 152 sales, respectively. The medians were $562,500 this year, and $535,000 in 2024. Like the single-family-home segment, only February of 2022 posted a higher average price, of $678,862, and a higher median at $620,800.

 

“The condominium market has roared to life this year, and I feel like first-time buyers trying to enter the market need to strongly consider the advice of their real-estate agent to ensure they get their ducks in a row before viewing properties, to ensure they can act quickly, as the luxury of time for well situated, fairly priced units may be coming to an end,” Cook says, noting sales were the highest in February since July of 2024, meaning 2025’s mid-winter activity unusually surpassed summer and fall demand.

 

Townhomes, also known as the ‘missing middle,’ delivered 59 sales compared to 68 in 2024, a drop of nine units. Prices, too, were slightly suppressed this year with an average of $836,199 compared to $848,059, and a median of $794,500 dipping just below 2024’s $799,950.

 

“Given the cost of single-family housing in our region, townhomes have gained in popularity in recent years as the logical ladder climb for condominium owners seeking more room, and perhaps a yard and private garage. In open houses that I have held recently, townhomes priced right in that average range for the month had strong turnouts and quick offers on listings,” Cook says, adding that “what holds the townhome market back is availability of units. If more units were available on the re-sale market, more sales would be taking place.”

 

Active listings in the region rose to 2,630 units, a climb from 2,364 units last February. The figure, albeit higher than recent years, is still a far cry from over 4,000 listings in 2023 and approximately 4,000 listings between 2009 and 2014. New listings on the market added to the active inventory throughout February totalled 1,154 units, also higher than all prior years through 2016.

 

Cook’s takeaways from the last two months and his insight into the spring market is a reminder to homebuyers that when interest rates fall to where more buyers can make home buying decisions, activity picks up, and prices may be pressured to move beyond the strike zone for some buyers.

 

“I would say, that the benefit of a balanced market that gives home buyers more time to shop properties and return days or even weeks later to an earlier viewed home, could be coming to an end, given how much activity there currently is, and we have only just entered the busiest buying season that typically occurs between March and May in Victoria,” Cook says.

 

Speaking to the impact of American tariffs on Victoria’s housing market, Cook believes real-estate has long been seen as a safe haven for capital when global markets are in flux, especially if interest rates are favourable and encourage mortgage debt.

 

“Real-estate is generally perceived as a pretty safe bet when there may be economic headwinds,” Cook says, citing US tariffs as a macro event that may have an impact on the Canadian economy depending on the duration of the tariffs, and their final rate, but also noting that “Victoria’s economy, unlike many Canadian cities, is generally buffered from turbulent cycles thanks to so much employment relying on government and the city’s destination as a retirement community.”

 

As for sellers, Cook recommends that buyers remain mindful of growing competition at this time of the year, so factors like cleanliness, upgrades, inspirational staging and market-informed pricing are still critical to a fast sale and broader appeal.

 

“Feedback from buyers, even those who are motivated and willing to make a quick buying decision, suggests that this is not 2016, when the market was in a mad rush and buyers could not be picky, nor is it 2021 or 2022, when home sales were also extremely strong throughout Victoria. The market may be gaining momentum and more buyers may be entering the pool, but quality still speaks volumes, and the key to a faster home sale is getting the key ingredients like prep, pride of ownership and flexibility on closing dates and pricing figured out before you list your home.

 

Last month, Cook had a Citified feature on the Sooke market (titled Victoria's coastal suburb of Sooke a must-see value proposition in Capital's high-cost housing market) highlighting the western suburb's relative value compared to other parts of Greater Victoria.

 

“It is so noteworthy how under-valued the Sooke housing market is, and how its prices can still provide buyers looking for a single-family-home an opportunity to do so at well below $1 million. With the average single-family-home now selling for over $1.3 million throughout Greater Victoria, between January and February the average price for a single-family-home in Sooke was just over $961,000. That’s a tremendous savings, and reinforces the age-old adage of ‘drive a little, save a lot.’” C

 

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