2025 started off strong for Victoria real-estate as January’s home prices reached averages and medians second only to 2022’s record-breaking highs, and market-wide transactions jumped 24% over 2024, according to the latest Victoria Real Estate Board (VREB) data.

 

The single-family-home price average across 194 purchases via the Multiple Listings Service (MLS) showed a 4% gain this January over January of last year, the VREB reports, landing at $1,267,566 compared to $1,219,694. The median was 7.6% higher at $1,127,000. Sales of single-family homes rose sharply, by 20%. 2022’s average of $1,410,380 with a $1,252,500 median is currently the high water mark for this segment.

 

Victoria real-estate agent Ryan Cook (see website) says many younger and first-time buyers are still holding out hope for move in-ready single-family homes ranging between $900,000 and $1 million in the Capital’s the core. However, as those opportunities quickly diminish while demand outstrips entry-level supply, there is room to manoeuvre if you know where to look and don’t mind being further afield.

 

“With the activity we saw in December and now such a strong start to 2025, I would caution purchasers who may have expectations of a lower entry point in the single-family-home market within Victoria’s core, to move quickly when listings appear, or adjust their criteria to include communities like Sooke or the Cowichan Valley where more options for entry-priced houses are available,” Cook says, adding that “the thought of living in a suburb or commuting a longer distance may be perceived as an obstacle especially among renters in the city centre looking to buy their first home, but that’s the realistic price of entry in a market with high real-estate valuations in urban areas.”

 

Condominiums saw a surge in buying activity compared to last year, with 146 sales averaging $625,897 with a $549,500 median. January’s activity represented more than a 30% sales lift, as average prices soared 8% and the median rose by just under 2%. Like single-family homes, this January delivered the highest prices behind only January of 2022, when the average was $683,759 and the median $603,420.

 

“The industry’s take-away from such a strong month for condos is that the market over-all is finished waiting, and deals are being made,” Cook said. “This segment of the market has been relatively weak in 2024, driven down by Victoria's city centre. So to see activity increasing this quickly into the New Year, including more interest in the downtown area specifically, suggests a busy spring could be ahead.”

 

Not to be left out, townhomes also had a strong start to 2025, yielding 52 sales (a 44% increase over last year’s 36) at an $807,302 average (13% rise) and a $738,750 median (5% rise). Like the former two categories, only January of 2022 posted stronger price points, when the average was $872,661 and the median $861,250.

 

Overall, 422 sales were recorded via MLS in january, compared to 341 in January of 2024, a difference of 24%.

 

New listings moved up from 2024’s 960 units to 1,175 units this year, as total active listings grew 12% from 2,140 last year to 2,395 this year.

 

As to what could be sparking growing excitement among buyers, Cook believes lower interest rates have finally recessed to a level where meaningful financial impacts can being realized.

 

“With five-year mortgage rates now squarely in the range of 4.5% or less, more would-be purchasers are feeling confident about their financial prospects, and this has re-ignited demand. Buyers are also feeling more confident that over the near or medium term, rates could dip even further, which can only improve the mortgage situation after an offer has been accepted and closing of the deal is some weeks or months into the future.”

 

Cook did caution, though, that several policies and taxes introduced by provincial and federal governments in recent years are going to stymie market activity that would otherwise be taking place. The real-estate agent says foreign buyer taxes are giving Americans seeking greener pastures in Canada some reservation, including Americans moving to Canada for employment.

 

Currently in BC, foreign buyers are required to pay a tax, or a tariff, of 20% on property. This equates to a $200,000 tax hit, plus property transfer tax, plus closing costs, if buying a $1 million home. Some purchasers are walking away from the market when faced with that level of taxation.

 

Investors have also seen better days, Cook says, and are now largely out of the picture due to new taxes, bans on property uses, tenancy branch regulation changes, rental controls and an unstable capital gains taxation policy that was introduced by the federal government last year, and which may now disappear, but which is still being considered active policy by Revenue Canada.

 

As for the months ahead, Cook believes barring any major unforeseen economic disruption, or an American tariff process that gets out of hand, Victoria’s real-estate market is poised for a strong showing as the peak buying and selling season nears.

 

“The interest rate cuts are starting to sink in, and it’s becoming more realistic for buyers to finally make a move. Will this lead to price appreciation as we get into the spring market? That’s possible. February will help us better understand how lower interest rates have been processed by the local market, and better refine our outlook for the spring. But for now, I would recommend to buyers feeling price pressure in Victoria’s core to consider communities like transit-connected Sooke where every dollar will stretch further, or even beyond the Capital Regions, in places like lower-priced Cowichan Valley.” C

 

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