Victoria BC Real Estate Market Statistics
September sales across Greater Victoria fell well below both August and last September while inventory continued to rise. VREB says the market has moved into buyer's market territory, while cautioning that one month does not make a trend.
What Changed in the Victoria Real Estate Market?
Sales fell sharply from August and from last year
Greater Victoria recorded 463 total sales in September 2026, compared with 554 in September 2025. That represents a 16.4% year-over-year decrease, and sales were 21.7% below August's 591 transactions. VREB's chair observed that September's market looked very different from July and August.
Inventory kept building
There were 3,811 active listings at the end of September, 3.2% more than a year earlier and 4.1% more than August's 3,662. VREB described inventory as outpacing sales to a degree not seen in many years, which gives buyers considerable choice and makes accurate pricing essential for sellers.
Detached and condo sales both declined
Single-family sales totalled 239 units, down 17.3% from September 2025. Condominium sales totalled 137 units, down 11%. Both major property categories contributed to the drop in total September activity, reversing the year-over-year gains each had posted in August.
Benchmark prices eased far less than sales
The Victoria Core single-family MLS® HPI benchmark was $1,280,100 in September, down 2% from $1,306,500 a year earlier and below August's $1,301,800. The Core condominium benchmark was $547,800, up 1% from $542,200 a year earlier but below August's $553,600. These figures point to a market with greater selection but without a broad collapse in benchmark values.
Greater Victoria Real Estate Charts
The charts below compare the latest VREB figures with August 2026, September 2025 and recent second-quarter history.
Total MLS® Sales
September 2025 versus August and September 2026.
Active Listings
Month-end inventory across the same comparison periods.
September Sales by Property Type
Single-family and condominium sales, September 2025 versus September 2026.
Victoria Core House Benchmark
MLS® HPI benchmark for a single-family home.
Victoria Core Condo Benchmark
MLS® HPI benchmark for a condominium apartment.
Second-Quarter Sales History
VREB Q2 single-family and condominium sales, 2023 through 2026.
Data credit: Victoria Real Estate Board. September 2025 single-family and condo sales used in the comparison chart are 289 and 154 respectively, consistent with VREB's published September 2025 statistics. Benchmark values shown here use the figures currently published by VREB for the comparison periods.
September 2026 Market Comparison
| Metric | September 2026 | August 2026 | September 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total sales | 463 | 591 | 554 |
| Active listings | 3,811 | 3,662 | 3,694 |
| Single-family sales | 239 | 309 | 289 |
| Condo sales | 137 | 175 | 154 |
| Victoria Core single-family benchmark | $1,280,100 | $1,301,800 | $1,306,500 |
| Victoria Core condo benchmark | $547,800 | $553,600 | $542,200 |
What the 2026 Spring Market Tells Us
VREB's review of the second quarter showed a split market. Between April and June 2026, 1,104 single-family homes sold, compared with 1,138 in 2025, 1,078 in 2024 and 1,046 in 2023. Condominium sales were softer: 568 condos sold in Q2 2026, compared with 657 in 2025, 645 in 2024 and 695 in 2023.
The broader theme was increasing inventory and more consumer choice. That pattern carried through the summer and sharpened in September: buyers gained more time to compare properties, while sellers increasingly needed to compete on price, condition and presentation.
The third quarter traced a steady decline in monthly activity. VREB reported 673 sales in July, 591 in August and 463 in September, a total of 1,727 for the quarter, while active listings finished September at 3,811.
Why the MLS® Home Price Index Matters
Benchmark prices are not simple averages
VREB uses the MLS® Home Price Index to measure changes in the value of a representative benchmark home. The model considers housing characteristics such as location, age, size and bedrooms rather than relying only on the mix of properties that happened to sell in a particular month.
Use trends, not one isolated number
Monthly statistics provide useful market context, but they do not establish the value of a particular property. Neighbourhood, condition, lot, view, renovation quality, strata characteristics and other property-specific factors can produce results very different from regional benchmarks.
What This Market Means for Buyers and Sellers
More choice means more room for comparison
Inventory is rising while sales have slowed, so buyers can be selective. Use that advantage to compare condition, location, future resale appeal and competing inventory rather than focusing only on asking price. VREB notes that inventory generally decreases into winter, so selection may be near its widest now.
Pricing and presentation carry more weight
September's slower sales mean each listing is competing for fewer buyers. VREB suggests sellers review current market value and their expectations before listing, since September looked very different from July and August. Properties that are well-priced and well-presented are better positioned to attract serious attention in a market with substantial competing supply.
How Much Choice Do Buyers Have Right Now?
Sales and inventory are most useful when read together. September had fewer sales than the same month last year, and buyers were choosing from a larger pool of active properties.
September's 463 sales divided by 3,811 month-end active listings. This is a simple Listings Victoria comparison derived from VREB's published totals, not an official VREB market-balance calculation.
There were roughly 8.2 active listings at month end for every September sale. The comparable figure was about 6.2 in August 2026 and 6.7 in September 2025.
September sales were materially weaker than a year earlier, and the decline from August was sharper still.
September's Slowdown Was More Than Seasonal
Seasonal patterns do not explain September's result. In 2025, sales rose from 525 in August to 554 in September, an increase of about 5.5%. This year they moved the other way, falling from 591 in August, which VREB had called the strongest August in five years, to 463 in September.
The year-over-year comparison, which removes most seasonal effects, points the same way: September sales finished 16.4% below September 2025. At the same time, active inventory rose to 3,811 listings from 3,662 in August and stood 3.2% higher than a year earlier. VREB's chair cautioned that one month does not make a trend and suggested that uncertainty in other parts of people's lives may be contributing to lower sales activity.
Total sales declined sharply as the market moved from summer into fall.
Sales were weaker than the same month in 2025.
Buyers had more active inventory to choose from than a year earlier.
Our View: Rising Bond Yields Will Keep Pressure on Prices
The most important force acting on Greater Victoria real estate right now is not local. Bond yields in the United States have been climbing as investors respond to inflationary pressure coming from energy prices, with crude oil back above US$100 a barrel, and from monetary policy. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield reached 5.07% on September 23, its highest level since 2007.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is reacting. On September 16 it raised its policy rate by a quarter point to a range of 3.75% to 4%, its first increase in more than three years, and its own projections point to a further increase before the end of the year. For as long as these inflationary pressures persist, we expect the Fed to keep responding the same way.
Canada is unlikely to stand apart for long. The Bank of Canada has held its rate at 2.25%, which leaves a wide gap with U.S. rates and has put the Canadian dollar under pressure at roughly 70 US cents. A weaker dollar raises the cost of imports and adds to inflation here, and the Bank has already said that upside risks to inflation have increased. We expect it will likely follow suit, with its next announcement due on October 28. Canadian bond yields have already moved up with U.S. yields, and fixed mortgage rates follow bond yields rather than waiting for the Bank.
Reached on September 23, 2026, the highest level since 2007.
Raised a quarter point on September 16, the first increase in more than three years.
Roughly where the dollar traded at the end of September, with the Bank of Canada rate at 2.25%.
This section is Listings Victoria's own opinion. It is not a statement or forecast from the Victoria Real Estate Board and it is not financial advice. Yield, rate and currency figures are as reported during September 2026.
Greater Victoria, the VREB Region and the Victoria Core Are Not the Same Thing
Market-statistics pages can become confusing because several geographic labels are used at once. The headline sales and active-listing totals in the monthly VREB release describe activity across the Victoria Real Estate Board region. The benchmark-price examples highlighted in the same release are for the Victoria Core. Neither should be interpreted as a statistic for the City of Victoria municipality alone.
That distinction matters because Greater Victoria contains very different housing markets. Oak Bay, Saanich East, Saanich West, Langford, Colwood, Sidney, North Saanich, Central Saanich, Sooke and the City of Victoria can have different property mixes, price levels, inventory conditions and buyer pools. Regional statistics are useful for understanding direction, but a property should ultimately be compared with the market segment and location in which it actually competes.
Board-wide activity
The 463 September sales and 3,811 active listings describe the broader VREB market, not one municipality.
Victoria Core benchmark
The $1,280,100 single-family and $547,800 condo benchmark figures cited here are Victoria Core MLS® HPI values.
Property-level value
A regional benchmark cannot substitute for comparable sales, competing listings, property condition, location and other property-specific factors.
Benchmark Price vs. Average Price vs. Median Price
These measures answer different questions. VREB now emphasizes the MLS® HPI benchmark when describing price trends because it is less sensitive to a changing mix of expensive and inexpensive properties sold in a particular month.
Tracks a representative home
The benchmark is based on a notional home with typical attributes for a market segment. The HPI model considers characteristics such as location, size, age and bedrooms to estimate how the value of that representative home changes over time.
Can move with the sales mix
An average can rise simply because more high-priced properties sold during one month, or fall because the month contained a larger proportion of lower-priced sales. It remains useful, but it can be noisy over short periods.
Shows the midpoint transaction
The median is the middle sale when transactions are ordered by price. It is less affected by very high or very low outliers than the average, but it still depends on which homes happened to sell that month.
Detached Homes and Condos Are Not Moving in Exactly the Same Way
Detached-home sales were 17.3% lower than in September 2025. The Victoria Core single-family benchmark was $1,280,100, down from $1,301,800 in August and 2% below the $1,306,500 benchmark published for September 2025.
The second-quarter picture was comparatively steady: 1,104 single-family homes sold in Q2 2026, versus 1,138 in 2025, 1,078 in 2024 and 1,046 in 2023.
Condo sales were 11% lower than in September 2025. The Victoria Core condo benchmark was $547,800 in September, down from $553,600 in August but 1% above the $542,200 benchmark published for September 2025.
The spring pattern was softer than for detached homes: 568 condos sold in Q2 2026, down from 657 in 2025, 645 in 2024 and 695 in 2023.
Four Indicators Worth Following Through the Fall Market
Inventory direction
VREB notes that inventory generally decreases into winter. If active listings instead remain elevated relative to sales, buyers should retain meaningful choice and sellers will continue to face competition from comparable listings.
Sales momentum
September was weaker than both August and a year earlier. October and November will show whether that was a one-month dip or the start of a slower fall market.
Benchmark-price stability
The Core single-family benchmark was down 2% over the year while the condo benchmark was up 1%. Small month-to-month HPI movements are less important than the trend that emerges over several months, and VREB itself cautions against using one short period to infer the value of an individual property.
Whether the buyer's market holds
VREB described September as buyer's market territory, the first since January 2015 apart from the start of the pandemic, and said it is too early to tell whether conditions have truly shifted. The next few monthly releases will answer that.
How to Read the Monthly VREB Numbers
Total Sales
The number of MLS® transactions reported through the Board during the month across all included property types.
Active Listings
The number of listings available on the VREB MLS® system at month end. This measures available supply, not the number of new listings added during the month.
Year-over-Year Change
Compares the current month with the same month one year earlier, helping reduce some of the distortion caused by normal real-estate seasonality.
Month-over-Month Change
Compares the current month with the immediately preceding month. It is useful for momentum but can be heavily influenced by seasonal patterns.
Benchmark Home
A representative property with typical characteristics for a defined market segment, used by the MLS® HPI to track price changes over time.
Victoria Core
A VREB HPI market area used for benchmark reporting. It should not be confused with the City of Victoria municipality or the entire Greater Victoria region.
Compare the Statistics with Today's Greater Victoria Listings
Regional statistics are most useful when paired with the actual inventory buyers and sellers are competing with right now.
Important Notes About These Statistics
This page is an independent Listings Victoria interpretation of statistics published by the Victoria Real Estate Board. The underlying figures are market-level data and are intended to show broad conditions and trends. They are not a valuation of any individual property.
VREB specifically cautions that sale-price statistics are most useful when examined over a period of time rather than as a single isolated month. The Board's MLS® HPI was designed to improve trend analysis by controlling for changes in the characteristics of homes that sell from one period to another.
The simple sales-to-active-listings calculations shown on this page are derived by Listings Victoria from VREB's published monthly totals solely to illustrate the relationship between transactions and available month-end inventory. They are not identified as an official VREB ratio and should not be treated as a substitute for the Board's own market interpretation.
For a property-specific opinion of value, recent comparable sales, competing active listings, neighbourhood, lot characteristics, condition, renovation quality, property type, views, strata factors and other relevant features should be reviewed directly.