According to a recent report by Royal LePage, the Greater Victoria housing market has remained balanced in the first quarter of 2025.
This report found that the aggregate home price in Greater Victoria has increased slightly, by 2.6% since this time last year to $1,061,700.
Since the last quarter of 2024, home prices have increased by 1.3%.
For the median price of a single-family detached home, the price has increased by 3.0% year-over-year to $1,286,400, while the median price of a condo actually decreased slightly by 0.4% to $524,900.
“The market kicked off surprisingly early this year – right after New Year’s – with solid activity from both buyers and sellers,” said Neil Bosdet, sales representative, Royal LePage Coast Capital Realty.
“We hit a brief slowdown in February thanks to a cold snap, but things picked up again in March and have stayed steady since. In terms of activity levels, it’s been a strong first quarter, which actually feels unusual after a few years of disruption to the real estate cycle as a result of the pandemic.
Bosdet added that Greater Victoria is in a relatively balanced market, with enough supply to meet demand, when compared to other markets.
The Greater Toronto and Vancouver areas actually recorded declines in housing prices by 2.7% and 0.7%, respectively.
Meanwhile, for the Greater Montreal area, the aggregate home price increased by 7.9% and Quebec City saw the highest increase of 17%, year-over-year in the first quarter.
Across Canada, confidence in the housing market is divided while many deal with economic and political uncertainty. According to Royal LePage’s report, 49% of Canadians say they are confident in the country’s economic standing, while 43% are not.
When zooming out to look at Canada’s housing market as a whole, the aggregate price of a home increased by 2.1% since this time last year to $829,400 in the first quarter of 2025.
“Canada’s housing market entered 2025 with mixed momentum,” said Phil Soper, president and CEO, Royal LePage. “In Ontario and British Columbia, softer sales reflect consumer caution in the face of economic headwinds. In contrast, markets in Quebec, the Prairies and Atlantic Canada are demonstrating surprising resilience, buoyed by pent-up demand, falling interest rates and chronically low inventory.”
According to Royal LePage’s first quarter report, 49% of Canadians said the ongoing trade dispute with the US has caused them to postpone their home buying plans, while 51% said it has not.
How the election could help the housing market
With the federal election quickly approaching, housing remains a key issue and all parties have announced different measures they would put in place to help Canadians buy homes more easily.
The Liberal Party has said they would double the rate of residential construction over the next decade by providing low-cost financing to affordable home builders, and by using a prefab Housing Design Catalogue. Additionally, they have said they would drop the GST for first-time homebuyers on properties up to $1 million.
The Conservative Party have promised a plan to cut development taxes and incentivize municipalities to build more homes by converting at least 15 per cent of federal buildings into housing and drop the GST on all new home sales under $1.3 million.
The NDP plans to double the current rate of homebuilding, help first-time buyers enter the market by offering long-term, low-interest public-backed mortgages to Canadians as well as ban corporations from buying affordable rental buildings in order to increase the cost of rent.
And lastly, the Bloc Québécois says it would send back all federal housing funds to provinces, offer federal financial assistance for first-time buyers’down payments, eliminate the GST on certain professional services related to a home purchase and take legislative measures to restrict home flipping.
“Any initiatives that make housing more accessible for young families and first-time buyers – especially in our most costly housing markets – are welcome, whether achieved through incentives and regulatory reform for developers aimed at increased supply, or financial assistance for consumers,” said Soper.
“However, the decades-long shortfall of inventory our nation faces won’t be resolved overnight. It requires serious, long-term commitments and collaboration across all levels of government.”
Forecast for the upcoming year
Royal LePage say they are forecasting that the aggregate price of a home in Canada will increase 5.0 per cent by the fourth quarter of 2025, when compared to the last quarter of 2024.
