Photo: Kevstan · CC BY-SA 3.0Homes in Port Alberni are worth 44% less than the median of British Columbia’s towns
At the 2021 census the median home was worth $400,000, where British Columbia’s towns sit at $720,000. Sales are published too: 475 buyers in 2023, at a median $498,000. On the 2024 assessment, the middle residential property is valued at $489,000.
Three ways to price a home in Port Alberni
Every figure here is compared within the province, against British Columbia’s towns, since each province assesses on its own terms. What owners reported in May 2021 is an opinion of value; interest rates and prices have both moved since.
median, owners’ estimate
- Average
- $421K
- Owners
- 5,825
- British Columbia’s towns
- $720K
- The typical Canadian town
- $406K
median sale price
- Average sale
- $500K
- ÷ buyers’ income
- 4.1×
- Buyers
- 475
- British Columbia’s towns
- $682K
all residential
- British Columbia’s towns
- $671K
Census 2021 (Statistics Canada); Canadian Housing Statistics Program, tables 46-10-0099 and 46-10-0093; Québec rôle d’évaluation foncière 2026 (MAMH).
Houses in Port Alberni carry assessments 33% under the middle of British Columbia’s towns
Of Port Alberni’s 7,000 residential properties on the 2024 roll, 79% are detached houses and 3% are condos.
Median assessment by type, 2024 the tick is the median of British Columbia’s towns
Canadian Housing Statistics Program, table 46-10-0093 (2024): residential properties on the assessment roll, vacant land left out. The ticks are the median of British Columbia’s towns with their own figure; assessments compare within a province only.
An older stock than most: 38% of Port Alberni’s homes go back before 1961 (British Columbia’s towns: 11%)
Of the 8,450 homes people lived in across Port Alberni at the 2021 census, 68% were single-detached houses.
Homes by period of construction the tick is the median of British Columbia’s towns
Homes by kind
| Port Alberni | British Columbia | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Condominiums | 7% | 10% | 8% |
| Needing major repairs | 8% | 6% | 6% |
| Too small for the household | 4% | 4% | 3% |
| Households in core housing need | 12% | 10% | 7% |
Census 2021 (Statistics Canada): occupied private dwellings; core housing need as Statistics Canada defines it. Ticks and columns are medians of the towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more.
Building at the pace of British Columbia’s towns: 18.7 new homes a year per 1,000 in Port Alberni, against 18.1
Port Alberni issued permits for 859 new homes from 2018 to 2023, or about 143 a year. Multi-unit buildings took most: single-unit ones were just 19%, where British Columbia’s towns built 27%.
A peak in 2019: 326 new homes
New homes a year per 1,000 homes
Statistics Canada, tables 46-10-0087 (building permits by census subdivision, 2018–2023: dwelling units created, new construction and conversions) and 34-10-0292 (monthly, metro areas). Per 1,000: units a year over 2019–2023 against occupied homes in 2021.
Port Alberni is cheaper than most of British Columbia’s towns: 44% under their $720,000 median
254 of British Columbia’s towns (2,500 people or more), by median value at the 2021 census, dearest first.
Census 2021, owners’ estimates; towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, no city as a whole, no reserve.
Home values around Port Alberni
Next to Port Alberni: 2021 census values and the share of owners.
| Town | Median home value | Average | Owners | km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Alberni | $400K | $421K | 69% | |
| Electoral Area F, Alberni-Clayoquot | $552K | $546K | 85% | 3.4 |
| Electoral Area E, Alberni-Clayoquot | $552K | $592K | 87% | 6 |
| Electoral Area D, Alberni-Clayoquot | $800K | $930K | 90% | 11.9 |
Census 2021 values; km.
Questions about property prices in Port Alberni
Is Port Alberni expensive for British Columbia?
Less than most: British Columbia’s towns have a median of $720,000, and Port Alberni sits below it.
How many households in Port Alberni are in core housing need?
In line with British Columbia’s towns (10%): 12% in Port Alberni, counting the households whose home falls short on cost, size or repair.
What is the average house price in Port Alberni?
Homes sold for an average $500,000 in 2023; the median buyer paid 4.1 times their household income.
Can I see individual sales or prices by street?
Only in total: Statistics Canada releases each town’s median and average sale and its number of buyers, never a single sale.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021 · Statistics Canada, Canadian Housing Statistics Program · Statistics Canada, building permits (tables 46-10-0087 and 34-10-0292). Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).