The price of residential real-estate in January was up year-over-year and surpassed almost all of December’s price points. Sales, however, fell across all three main residential sectors to lows for the month not seen since January of 2023, according to the latest data from the Victoria Real Estate Board for properties sold via the Multiple Listings Service.

 

Throughout the first 31 days of 2026, 153 single-family homes fetched buyers paying an average of $1,326,911 with a median at $1,160,000. The annual average for 2025 was $1,305,083 with the same median as January’s, while last January, the average was $1,267,566 (over 194 sales), yielding a year-over-year rise of 4.7% (the median last year was $1,127,000).

 

January’s average was, in fact, the second-highest on record for the month, behind only January of 2022’s $1,410,380 that helped propel that year to an all-time annual record price of $1,333,869.

 

Victoria real-estate agent Ryan Cook (see website) says the market has become more selective since interest rates shifted northwards in mid-2022, but while sales may have fallen compared to the frenzied pace some years back, buyers are willing to pay what sellers command if the product and location are right.

 

“Throughout 2025, there was a lot of focus on what was happening nationally, but as far as Victoria’s housing market was concerned, price was not a stumbling block, rather, value is what mattered, and that included the higher end of the market that is driving the valuations we are currently seeing,” Cook says. “What is important to consider for sellers, is if property is priced rationally at any pricing stratum, it will draw interest given strong demand for Victoria real-estate. What this means is sellers have to be realistic in their expectations, and when they are, buyers respond.”

 

Condominiums saw an even larger percentage-based price appreciation in January than did single-family homes year-over-year, outpacing the annual average for 2025, and landing just shy of the all-time January record set in 2022.

 

Sellers accepted offers for 109 units, averaging $667,906, with a median of $546,000. The year prior, the average across 146 sales was $625,897, giving 2026 the edge on price by 6.7%, although the median last year was a touch higher at $549,500. In all of 2025 the average was $609,243.

 

“The condominium market is operating along two tangents. On the one hand, you have a notably strong buyer’s market for downtown Victoria condominiums, especially studio and one-bedroom units, then on the other hand, you have competition between buyers for larger two-bed, two-bath units, especially in the suburban markets,” Cook says, adding that “regardless of the micro economics at play, many sellers are entertaining offers at below their asking prices due to overall slower sales in this sector and growing competition as listings keeping rising. This is helping move stale inventory, and encouraging new entrants to price units to market conditions.”

 

Like their more popular counterparts, townhomes had a stronger showing this January with prices rising 2.3% over 53 sales, averaging $825,709 this year, and $807,302 in January of 2025, when 52 sales were recorded. The medians were $799,000 and $738,750, respectively. The annual average in 2025 was $830,125.

 

In terms of listings, sellers are lining up, and competition is growing.

 

At 1,184 new units, January saw the month’s highest new listing count since 2011, when 1,187 properties hit the market. In terms of active inventory, January had 2,624 units on MLS, a figure not surpassed since 2015 when 3,283 units were on the market.

 

Across all market categories, this January recorded 339 sales via MLS, a significant drop from 422 last year, although January of 2023 and 2024 had 278 and 341 sales, respectively.

 

Cook believes interest rates are going to be a key factor in buying decisions in 2026, notably five-year fixed rates that are currently hovering around 4%. To budge the market into action, five-year rates well below 4% would need to land in time for the spring market, and that may not materialize.

 

“In mid-2025 economists were certain that whatever rate adjustments came by the fall, they would represent the rate bottom. Looking at the economy in 2026, we may, in fact, see additional rate cuts, but whether they materialize in time for the historically busy spring buying season is another matter,” Cook says.

 

In 2026, Cook notes that renters looking to transition into home ownership benefit from a housing market not likely to see significant upswings in prices, whereas the potential for lower interest rates is still on the table. Meanwhile, landlords are fielding more competition for renters and rental prices have been adjusting downward from their peaks in the first half of the decade.

 

“As a renter, you currently have the benefit of falling rental rates in a market finding itself over-supplied in some areas, and thousands of additional units are under construction. And then you have the prospect of falling interest rates, as listings continue to grow, meaning sellers are going to be more receptive to negotiation. This is a great time to be a buyer in Victoria’s real-estate market, and 2026 could prove to be one of the best market entry points in some time.” C

 

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