Photo: Michal Klajban · CC BY-SA 4.0Homes in Saltspring Island sell for 43% more than the median of British Columbia’s towns
Owners valued the median home at $800,000 at the 2021 census, and the average at $952,000. On the 2024 assessment, the middle residential property is valued at $922,000. Building permits in Saltspring Island added about 155 homes a year from 2018 to 2023.
Three ways to price a home in Saltspring Island
Three sources, each set against British Columbia’s towns only: provinces measure value differently, so they don’t line up across borders. These home values were given by owners themselves, in a census taken in May 2021.
median, owners’ estimate
- Average
- $952K
- Owners
- 4,080
- British Columbia’s towns
- $720K
- The typical Canadian town
- $406K
median sale price
- Average sale
- $1.1M
- ÷ buyers’ income
- 6×
- Buyers
- 270
- 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).
On the assessment roll, Saltspring Island’s houses sit 36% above British Columbia’s towns
Assessors listed 4,975 residential properties in Saltspring Island for 2024, 86% of them detached houses.
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.
The homes of Saltspring Island, by period and type
The 2021 census counted 5,120 occupied homes in Saltspring Island; 81% of them are single-detached houses. At least half predate 2001.
Homes by period of construction the tick is the median of British Columbia’s towns
Homes by kind
| Saltspring Island | British Columbia | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Condominiums | 4% | 10% | 8% |
| Needing major repairs | 8% | 6% | 6% |
| Too small for the household | 5% | 4% | 3% |
| Households in core housing need | 6% | 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.
29.6 new homes a year per 1,000 in Saltspring Island: more than British Columbia’s towns (18.1)
Single-unit buildings took 75% of them, where British Columbia’s towns built 27%.
A peak in 2019: 180 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.
Saltspring Island against British Columbia’s towns: 11% over the $720,000 median
The census values of British Columbia’s towns, 254 of them with 2,500+ people, from dearest to cheapest.
Census 2021, owners’ estimates; towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, no city as a whole, no reserve.
Cheaper next to Saltspring Island: North Cowichan, Cowichan Bay and Duncan
Next to Saltspring Island: 2021 census values and the share of owners.
| Town | Median home value | Average | Owners | km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saltspring Island | $800K | $952K | 81% | |
| North Cowichan | $600K | $641K | 77% | 14.5 |
| Cowichan Bay | $695K | $708K | 85% | 15.6 |
| Cowichan | – | – | 41% | 16.6 |
| Duncan | $400K | $423K | 58% | 16.7 |
| Southern Gulf Islands | $600K | $698K | 86% | 17.3 |
| Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley | $650K | $736K | 80% | 17.7 |
Census 2021 values; km.
Questions about property prices in Saltspring Island
How many households in Saltspring Island are in core housing need?
6% of Saltspring Island’s households, under the 10% of British Columbia’s towns, live in a home that is unaffordable, crowded or in poor repair and can’t afford a better one nearby.
What is the average house price in Saltspring Island?
Homes sold for an average $1,100,000 in 2023; the median buyer paid 6 times their household income.
Is Saltspring Island expensive for British Columbia?
Above the norm for British Columbia’s towns, whose median home is worth $720,000; Saltspring Island’s is worth more.
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).