Housing Archives - Victoria Chamber

Curious how LNG could impact Greater Victoria?

August 20, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Business And Economic Strength, Chamber Awareness, Climate Change Solutions, Global Uncertainty, Housing, Indigenous Business Support And Reconciliation, Inflation And Rising Costs, New And Established Businesses, Streamlined Regional Regulations, Transportation Options/by Jim Zeeben

Natural gas has a long history as a game-changing source of energy. From the old slogan, “Now you’re cooking with gas” to recent proposals aimed at boosting BC’s economy and helping wean the world off coal, LNG has made plenty of headlines.

Chamber members have a chance to dig deeper into those stories and others when we host FortisBC President and CEO Roger Dall’Antonia. The event, sponsored by ColdStar Solutions, runs Sept. 9, from 11:30am to 1 pm, at the Hotel Grand Pacific.

Dall’Antonia will speak about the latest efforts to grow the industry, the impact investing in natural gas will have on provincial revenue and the opportunities available in Greater Victoria.

If you have questions about FortisBC and our province’s energy sector, please send them to communications@victoriachamber.ca. We’ll select those that help inform conversations about our region and get the answers at the event directly from one of the province’s foremost experts.

Reserve your seat now for the Chamber’s next Business Leaders Luncheon, and make the most of this chance to connect with top movers and shakers in our business community.

Reserve Your Seat

Groundbreaking signals start of major new housing project

August 13, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Chamber Awareness, Government Local, Housing/by Jim Zeeben

One of our region’s largest new housing developments broke ground today, starting construction on a project that will eventually add 1,500 homes in Harris Green.

The housing, being developed by Starlight Investments, will include a mix of townhomes, studios and one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments.

The Chamber was an early supporter of the project.

Harris Green Village is the largest multi-family housing project in Victoria’s history, the developer said. The three-phase project will also add 100,000 square feet of modern commercial and retail space.

“The Harris Green Village development is a demonstration of Victoria’s forward-thinking approach to driving purpose-built rental housing,” City of Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto said. “This is exactly the kind of vibrant, community-driven growth we can expect as the City continues to create more opportunities for housing and community spaces in the downtown core.”

The first phase underway now will create 526 rental suites in the downtown Victoria neighbourhood

Strong start to summer for real estate market

July 9, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Business And Economic Strength, Housing/by Jim Zeeben

The latest numbers offer more evidence Greater Victoria’s real estate sector has moved beyond the uncertainty that had disrupted markets over the past five years.

“Recent market trends suggest that we have finally transitioned from a pandemic-driven market to more conventional patterns,” Victoria Real Estate Board Chair Dirk VanderWal said. “We have experienced consecutive months of a healthy and balanced market that includes listing inventory levels we have not seen in a decade paired with steady sales. Despite economic uncertainties weighing on consumer confidence, Victoria continues to demonstrate resilient market conditions.”

VREB said a total of 761 properties sold in June, up 15.1% from June 2024.

“Noteworthy this past month is a large uptick in the number of condos sold,” VanderWal said. “It will be interesting to see if this continues through the summer and becomes a trend.”

The benchmark value for a single family home in June was $1,325,400, down from May’s value of $1,326,600. The benchmark value for a condominium in June was $562,800, down from the May value of $564,100.

Good step forward for safer supportive housing

July 2, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Government Provincial, Housing, Safe Communities/by Jim Zeeben

Businesses continue to demand action on making communities safer. On Monday, the provincial government announced help for supportive housing providers dealing with problematic and dangerous individuals taking advantage of vulnerable people.

A new, time-limited working group will have more authority to deal with urgent safety issues and better respond to weapons and criminal activity within supportive housing. The group will explore the potential to remove supportive housing from the Residential Tenancy Act.

“The government really listened to the concerns of our sector and has acted on them,” Our Place Society CEO Julian Daly said. “These proposed changes give us, as housing providers, more flexibility in how we manage our buildings, greater control over who lives with us and allows us to create safer homes for those we serve and a safer workplace for our colleagues.”

The working group will also address air-quality issues in supportive housing related to second-hand exposure to fentanyl.

“The Chamber applauds actions that make our communities safer,” Chamber CEO Bruce Williams said. “We know that helping people dealing with mental health and addiction challenges is vital, and part of that help includes keeping them safe from predators who target those populations.”

Saanich updates portals to speed up approval process

May 8, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Government Local, Housing/by Jim Zeeben

The District of Saanich has updated its residential building permit process with the launch of five digital submission portals:

New Build
Addition
Renovation
Demolition
Other(Accessory Building, Swimming Pool/Fence, Retaining Wall)

These online services will eliminate paper-based applications, making processes more convenient, reliable and efficient, the municipality stated, adding that it is striving to simplify the permitting process for residents and developers by removing application barriers and creating a seamless online application and payment experience.

“There is plenty of room for innovation to reduce barriers facing builders and others who do the work to provide the homes and services people demand,” Chamber CEO Bruce Williams said. “We know that inefficiencies and delays can add up to one-third of the cost to projects. Those costs are then passed on to buyers, so we applaud Saanich for taking steps to address that.”

Real estate market stays steady through Spring start

May 8, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Finding And Keeping Workers, Housing, Transportation Options/by Jim Zeeben

The chaos created by threats of tariffs and a tradewar is the likely reason for a cooler start to the spring housing market.

“Political uncertainty associated with the federal election, combined with broader economic concerns stemming from the United States tempered our brisk spring market growth,” Victoria Real Estate Board Chair Dirk VanderWal said in a media release. “The good news is we remain in that sweet spot of inventory, which we currently find is between 3,000 and 4,000 listings.”

VanderWal, who spoke to The Chamber’s Public Policy and Advocacy Committee on Tuesday along with VREB CEO David Corey, said that having available inventory is good for buyers, sellers and the 1,600 real estate agents working in our region.

“Currently, single family homes in certain price ranges are in demand and may see multiple offers, while there is a larger supply of condos waiting for buyers,” VanderWal said.

The benchmark value for a single family home in the Victoria Core in April was $1,344,800, up from March’s value of $1,335,300. The benchmark value for a condominium in April was $566,100, up from the March value of $560,400.

BC Housing gets grant funding for 530 new homes

March 26, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Housing/by Jim Zeeben

Housing is foundational to building a strong economy and safe communities. The Chamber advocates for policy change and investment in housing to support builders and the real estate sector, as well as to provide homes for all levels of our workforce and help people facing homelessness.

“We work for all of our members and are grateful that members such as BC Housing are getting more homes built in our region,” Chamber CEO Bruce Williams said, about news that BC Housing recently received $62 million in grant funding for 530 homes in our region.

The homes will be in five housing projects:

Camas House: 66 on-reserve homes at 1504A Admirals Rd. in Victoria for members of the Songhees Nation, operated by M’akola Housing Society.
Crosstown: 154 homes (100 affordable and 54 supportive homes) at 584 Burnside Rd. E. in Victoria, operated by Victoria Cool Aid Society.
The Ferns: Located at 496/498 Cecilia Rd. in Victoria, 88 homes will be operated by Pacifica Housing and 59 child care spaces will be managed by Burnside Gorge Community Association.
The Lions: 137 homes at 874 Fleming St. in Esquimalt, operated by Greater Victoria Housing Society.
The Woodlands: 85 homes at 3700 Cedar Hill Rd. in the District of Saanich, operated by Dawson Heights Housing Society.

New report offers insight into Canadian real estate

March 5, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Finding And Keeping Workers, Housing, Inflation And Rising Costs/by Jim Zeeben

What do the current events of 2025 mean for Canada’s real estate industry? There’s no crystal ball to foretell the future, but the expert prognosticators at Doane Grant Thornton have put together some thoughtful insights in their 2025 Real Estate market summary. The report looks at key trends, including the political winds blowing north from south of the border as well as the state of capital markets and impact of AI.

You can read about various asset classes and more at doanegrantthornton.ca.

Inventory rebounds as real estate market stabilizes

February 5, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Housing/by Jim Zeeben

More homes sold in January than the same month a year ago, as the Victoria Real Estate Board reports 2025 is off to a good start.

“Over the course of the month, we saw an uptick in new listings, and it is the first time in 10 years that over 1,000 new listings were added to our inventory in a January,” VREB Chair Dirk VanderWal said in a media release.

There were 2,395 active listings for sale at the end of January, an increase of 4.6% from December and an 11.9% increase from January 2024.

“There are strong fundamentals underpinning our market. Pricing remains stable, inventory levels are favourable when compared to recent years and interest rates continue to trend in a positive direction for consumers,” VanderWal said. “Of course, there may be uncertainty in the coming months as international trade relationships are tested, so we will track if these deliberations impact the market moving forward.”

The benchmark value for a single family home in January was $1,287,200, down from December’s value of $1,306,400. The benchmark value for a condominium was $551,900 in January, up from the December value of $547,800.

New DND homes a win for Chamber and economy

February 5, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Chamber Awareness, Government Federal, Housing/by Jim Zeeben

Advocacy works. The latest win for The Chamber is news that the federal government is moving to address our 2024 policy resolution “Adding to Canada’s Housing Supply by Strengthening Canada’s Military Through Housing on Military Bases.”

In January, the government announced the construction of 668 new residential housing units and the renovation of more than 600 existing units across various Canadian bases within the next five years. These homes will include multi-unit buildings, row houses and semi-detached homes to better support military personnel. The construction of the new RHUs is part of a broader $1.4 billion investment over 20 years for housing projects to support the men and women of the CAF under Canada’s renewed defence policy, Our North, Strong and Free.

The Chamber’s policy resolution passed unanimously last year at the annual convention of the national chamber network.