MONTHLY STATISTICS UPDATE FOR MARCH 2025
Posted by Team Biberger on
MARCH 2025 MARKET UPDATE
NANAIMO, BC – The Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB) recorded 637 unit sales (all property types) in March 2025, down one per cent from one year ago. Year-over-year active listings (all property types) rose by six per cent, climbing to 3,708 from 3,488 the previous March.
In the single-family category (excluding acreage and waterfront), 301 homes sold in March, up four per cent from one year ago and an increase of 26 per cent from February. Sales of condo apartments last month came in at 87, an increase of nine per cent year over year and up 45 per cent from February. In the row/townhouse category, 74 units changed hands in March, down nine per cent from one year ago and up by 21 per cent over February.
Active listings of single-family homes were 1,162 last month compared to 1,084 in March 2024. VIREB’s inventory of condo apartments was 408 in March, up from the 324 posted one year ago. There were 317 row/townhouses for sale last month compared to 333 the previous year.
VIREB CEO Jason Yochim reports that with just under six months of inventory, VIREB’s market remains balanced, which is good news for buyers and sellers.
“Although there is continuing economic uncertainty surrounding the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, VIREB’s housing market is proving to be fairly resilient thus far,” says Yochim. “Sales activity in the first quarter of 2025 is about the same as last year and even up in some markets.”
“But it’s too early to say what the long-range impact of tariffs will have on the economy in general and the housing market specifically. That said, Vancouver Island is somewhat insulated because it remains a popular retirement destination for Canadians, and many retirees don’t need to obtain mortgages,” adds Yochim.
Moving on to prices, the board-wide benchmark price (MLS® Home Price Index) of a single-family home was $791,200 in March 2025, up four per cent from one year ago. In the apartment category, the benchmark price was $407,600 last month, up one per cent from the previous March. The benchmark price of a townhouse in March was $548,600, up three per cent from the prior year
Regardless of market conditions, connecting with a local REALTOR® can help smooth the way to a successful real estate transaction.
For more information and full update, check out the following resources on REALTOR Link®.
Our MARCH 2025 Market Update is provided above and available on YouTube; it summarizes our housing market in about two minutes.
Please note: The Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB) transitioned to a new MLS® System in July 2020 and now uses a significantly different data model, which has affected our categories and terminology. For the boardsupplied graphs, single-family is now referred to as single-family detached, apartment as condo apartment, and townhouse as row/townhouse, which now includes patio homes. However, when reporting HPI numbers, VIREB still refers to single-family, apartment, and townhouse in the media release.