As a managing broker, I see every deal that moves through our brokerage, not just my own, and two things stood out this July. Homes were getting showings, plenty of them, and the showings weren’t necessarily turning into offers. Then the deals that did come together were coming apart a bit more than usual, over buyer financing that couldn’t quite get there or an inspection detail that a year ago would have been a shrug. Buyers were looking hard and committing lightly.
That pattern reflects the July market in a nutshell: interest without urgency.
The July numbers
The benchmark single-family home in the Comox Valley sat at $859,600 in July, up slightly from a year ago and a hair below June’s $864,500. That’s the fourth month running the number has sat inside a narrow band around $860,000. For context, Campbell River came in at $686,800, Nanaimo at $822,200, and Parksville-Qualicum at $927,700. The benchmark has stopped telling much of a story on its own. It just sits there, which after the last few years is its own kind of news.
Sales are where July showed its hand. In the Valley, 56 single-family homes sold last month, down from 71 a year ago and off the summer’s earlier pace. The weakness isn’t showing up much in the prices of homes that actually sell. Those homes went in 36 days, faster than last year’s 45, and fetched about 98 per cent of asking. The bigger change is volume: fewer buyers are making the jump from looking to writing, the same hesitation I’m seeing in our own deal flow.
Inventory barely moved. Active single-family listings sat at 195, essentially flat against last year’s 197. Set 195 listings against 56 sales and you get about three and a half months of supply, up from three months in June but still squarely in balanced territory. Buyers have a little more room to deliberate than they did in the spring, and they’re using all of it.
The attached market keeps doing its own thing. Townhouse sales held steady at 14 for the month and are running more than 20 per cent ahead of last year through the first seven months, with the average townhouse price up almost 14 per cent year over year. On the condo side, only 16 apartments sold, but active condo listings dropped to 70 from 95 a year ago. Fewer condos for sale, steady demand, and the lower-maintenance segment stays tight.
What it feels like on the ground
The board’s CEO, Jason Yochim, struck a noticeably brighter note than he has all spring. “While our spring and summer housing market was slow to get off the ground this year, July showed encouraging signs of improvement, with REALTORS® across the VIREB area reporting increased activity,” he said. His read is a market that’s balanced and picking up, with more listings coming on and more people through the door.
That squares with what I’m seeing, and it explains the paradox in the data: closed sales dipped, but activity rose. Summer timing accounts for some of it, buyers on holidays, sellers waiting for the fall push, but most of it is temperament. As Yochim put it, “Buyers aren’t in a hurry and are willing to wait for the right property, so sellers need to be realistic about market value.”
He also named the busiest price band board-wide: $500,000 to $750,000. In the Comox Valley, that same appetite lands a notch higher, with our busiest year-to-date brackets running from $700,000 up through the low $1-millions. The lesson is identical wherever you sit on that ladder: the market rewards the homes priced where buyers already are.
I flagged this last month, so I’ll close the loop. In July I wrote that anyone waiting for a rate cut to make the decision for them could still be waiting come fall. On July 15, the Bank of Canada held its policy rate at 2.25 per cent again, saying economic growth had resumed and the current rate remained appropriate. The next decision comes September 2.
There’s no guarantee rates stay put, but expectations have shifted. In the Bank’s latest survey of market participants, the median forecast had the policy rate remaining at 2.25 per cent through the end of 2026. For buyers sitting on the sidelines solely in hopes of meaningfully cheaper money this fall, that may be a long wait.
What this means if you’re making a move
If you’re selling this fall, July drew a sharp line between the homes that priced to the market and the ones that didn’t. Homes that met the market sold in about five weeks at close to full price. Sellers that asked too much ended up with listings that sat. With buyers this patient, an ambitious list price doesn’t invite a negotiation, it invites silence. On an overpriced home, time does the buyer’s negotiating: every week the listing sits is another week of leverage the seller quietly hands over.
If you own a condo, the shrinking supply works in your favour: 70 apartments were for sale in July against 95 a year ago. Townhouse listings are steadier, up a touch year over year, but demand there has carried its own weight, with sales running more than 20 per cent ahead of last year through July. Either way, a well-presented attached home priced with a straight face is still finding its buyer.
And if you’re a buyer, July handed you something real: time. Balanced supply and unhurried competition mean you can look twice, sleep on it, and write a considered offer without the market running away from you. Just don’t confuse patience with leverage on the sharply priced listings. Those still move, sometimes attracting multiple buyers.
Where that leaves us
Halfway through the summer, the Comox Valley market isn’t hot and isn’t cold. It’s awake and deliberate: prices steady, inventory balanced, buyers engaged but taking their time, and financing rates holding steady. The sellers who do well this fall will be the ones who price for the market at the door, not the one they hoped for.
If you’re curious what your home would do in this market, whether it’s a Cumberland old-timer or a Crown Isle townhome, I’ll walk you through the comparables and give you a straight answer. If that answer is “list in September,” I’ll tell you that too.
Market data from the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB) July 2026 statistics, released August 2026. Benchmark prices reflect the MLS® Home Price Index for single-family homes excluding acreage and waterfront. Every home is different; numbers here describe the market, not your property.