Realtors say home prices in Greater Victoria are down by 0.5% since last year

According to Royal LePage’s quarterly house price survey, the price of a home in Greater Victoria has dropped slightly in the third quarter of 2024. 

Their survey found that the aggregate price of a home in Greater Victoria—a model based on median prices which includes all housing types—decreased by 0.5% since last year.

The aggregate price of a home in the region has fallen to $1,036,700 in the third quarter of 2024. 

Since 2024’s second quarter, the price dropped 0.8%. 

When the aggregate price average is broken down by housing type, the median price of a single-family detached home decreased by 0.1% year over year to $1,254,900.

Meanwhile the median price of a condo decreased 0.9% to $524,400, during the same period.

“Quiet and stable best describe the Victoria housing market as of late,” said Neil Bosdet, sales representative, Royal LePage Coast Capital Realty. 

“Consumer sentiment about the market is positive. Although mortgage rates have become discounted as a result of the three most recent cuts by the Bank of Canada, this has done little to stimulate buyer interest.” 

Bosdet added that the housing supply has been flat since last quarter, and even though a handful of distressed sellers have been offloading their properties, the number of homes for sale has not changed much. 

Statistics from the survey show that those looking to downsize have been the most active in the market while first-time buyers have remained on the sidelines. 

Though the cost of buying a home has decreased on average in Victoria, the same cannot be said for the rest of the country. 

According to Royal LePage, the national aggregate price of a home is up 1.6% since this time last year.  

The Bank of Canada has been slightly lowering the overnight borrowing rate consistently over the past several months and they are expected to continue to do so as the housing market remains stable. 

The overnight borrowing rate directly impacts mortgage rates—when it is high, the Bank of Canada is actively trying to deter spending to bring down inflation, when it’s low, they are encouraging people to borrow money from banks at a lower interest rate. 

“Despite three cuts to the Bank of Canada’s overnight lending rate, buyer demand nationally remains weak, particularly among two key groups: first-time homebuyers and small investors,” said Phil Soper, president and chief executive officer, Royal LePage. 

“First-time buyers, who are more sensitive to interest rates, are adopting a wait-and-see attitude. With home prices essentially flat and interest rates steadily declining, they perceive no penalty in postponing their purchase.”

Royal LePage say they use company data as well as data from their sister company, RPS Real Property Solutions to create the data found in their house price survey.