Experts say that across most of BC, housing prices were trending downwards by the end of 2022, but not for Vancouver Island.
The ‘barometer’ report by HelloSafe compared the average housing sale from 2021 to 2022 and it found that in many communities throughout the province, people were able to pay less for their homes.
Across Canada, it seems to depend on where you are living with some regions becoming more expensive to purchase a home; such as Vancouver Island—while other locations such as the Lower Mainland became cheaper.
Victoria’s housing prices rose by a margin of 2.6% in 2022 when compared to the previous year.
The report found that in 2021, the average home cost $853,300 and in 2022, that price tag rose to $872,700.
On Vancouver Island as a whole, housing prices rose only slightly by a margin of 0.9%.
For the Greater Vancouver area as a whole—which reached record highs in housing costs in 2021—saw its first decline in housing prices in several years. Prices came down by 3.3% between December 2021 and December 2022.
The average home in Vancouver now has a price tag of $1.11 million.
This graph shows the average value of real estate transactions:
BC and Ontario had the most noticeable drop in housing prices with 11.9% and 12.2% respectively.
The two provinces that had the largest drop in housing prices are also home to the most expensive cities to be renting housing across Canada.
According to Zumper’s last report, nine of the top 10 most expensive cities to rent in are either in BC or Ontario. Of the top five, four of those cities are in BC with Victoria coming in fourth place.
In Victoria, the average 400 square foot, single bedroom unit is $2,100 per month to rent.
