Homeownership in Victoria just got more expensive—again.
According to Ratehub.ca’s latest affordability report for June 2025, Victoria is among 12 major Canadian cities where the income required to buy a home increased compared to the month prior.
Despite a modest $1,000 drop in average home prices in Victoria, rising mortgage rates have made borrowing more costly, pushing affordability further out of reach for many locals.
Homebuyers in Victoria now need an annual income of $185,100 to qualify for a mortgage on the average home, up from $183,750 in May.
Monthly mortgage payments have also crept higher, increasing by $40 to $4,570.
“Mortgage rates moved up this month and this was the primary factor that impacted affordability,” said Penelope Graham, mortgage expert at Ratehub.ca.
See also: 7 things to know about Greater Victoria’s real estate market in June
“Home price movement was fairly evenly split with seven cities seeing prices rise and six cities seeing prices drop.”
Victoria’s case highlights how even a small decline in home prices is not enough to offset the pressure from rising mortgage and stress test rates, which both increased by 0.10% from May to June.
The average home price in the city now sits at $891,700.
Only Toronto saw an improvement in affordability last month, thanks to a sharp drop in home prices of nearly $18,000. Meanwhile, St. John’s experienced the biggest jump in required income—$2,460 more—due to both price and rate increases.
The lowest available 5-year fixed rate remains at 3.84%, but most buyers are subject to higher Big Bank averages. Ratehub.ca encourages buyers to shop around and consider locking in a pre-approval rate to protect against further hikes.
For Victoria homebuyers, rising borrowing costs are outweighing small price dips and pushing affordability further out of reach.
