If you are looking to buy a house in Greater Victoria there are thousands of options, and if you are selling, the advice from the experts is that move-in-ready properties are hot. Otherwise, properties may be on the market for months.
Realtor Stephen Foster listed a fixer-upper property in the core of Victoria more than 70 days ago for just over a million dollars, and has had few inquiries.
“It’s an older beautiful house but it does require some work. We’ve been looking for a buyer who is looking for a challenge,” Foster said.
He says buyers right now are focused on the right house, for the right price. It’s a different picture from just a few years ago.
“In 2022, this would have been out the door and gone in a minute. Just because it’s a great location, walkable to so many amenities nearby, lots of light, it’s a solid home. They’ve updated all the utilities on the properties,” Foster said.
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Sales are happening, but buyers are increasingly choosey, according to Fergus Kyne, chair of the Greater Victoria Real Estate Board.
“Right now what we are seeing in our market is even the reasonable price is being tested and things that are exciting, that is what is selling. So for homeowners, if you are thinking ‘where is my buyer?’ Take a look around at what you are selling. It has to look amazing and be in fantastic condition,” Kyne said.
The slowdown is reflected in the numbers.
The price of a single family home in Greater Victoria dropped 2.8 per cent in July 2026 compared with July 2025.
Condo prices are down 2.2 per cent this year compared with 2025.
But the price of townhouses is up slightly, by 0.8 per cent, from an average of $789,300 in July 2025 to $795,500 in July 2026.
What it translates into is cautious buyers who are taking their time.
“Buyers are definitely in a bit of the drivers seat just because there are more listings than there have been historically. We’re down a little bit from last month, which was a high of 11 years of 4,000 listings. But now we’re down and about five per cent off that,” Foster said.
“All those little things that you thought maybe didn’t need to be taken care of before you sold a couple of years ago, now definitely make the difference between people just passing it by, and making an offer,” Kyne said.
And both agree, if it’s move-in ready it’s likely to sell to the right buyer.
