People carry skis and snowboards in the Blackcomb Mountain village in Whistler, B.C. Limited inventory and a shift away from U.S. destinations have contributed to strong growth in B.C.’s winter recreational housing markets.DARRYL DYCK/The Globe and Mail
As B.C.’s biggest property markets struggle with a persistent downturn, ski destinations in the province are still showing strength thanks to steady demand, low inventory and a boost from the “Buy Canadian” movement, realtors say.
Winter destinations ranging from Whistler near the coast to towns like Revelstoke in the B.C. Interior experienced a meteoric rise in housing prices during the pandemic as Canadians rushed out of cities in search of space and refuge during COVID-19 lockdowns.
Recreational markets in B.C. towns stuttered slightly when interest rates went up in 2023, as they did in many Canadians cities that also saw outsized price increases. But unlike those major cities, in 2025 ski towns bounced back and went on to post further gains.
Realtors say limited inventory is the main driver of strong growth in B.C.’s winter recreational housing markets. But an exodus of Canadian snowbirds turning away from the United States and a generational wealth transfer under way are also lifting B.C.’s recreational market, Royal LePage chief executive officer Phil Soper said.
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The benefactors of the wealth transfer are a demographic more likely to be drawn to skiing and active destinations compared with snowbird destinations like Florida, Mr. Soper said. At the same time, snowbirds and other recreational home buyers are taking an interest because B.C. ski towns are increasingly offering more summer activities such as golf and mountain biking.
“It’s a perfect storm,” said Mr. Soper, adding that anyone selling a U.S. property benefits from Canada’s weak dollar too.
A Royal Lepage report at the end of 2025 found Revelstoke’s median sale price increased by 1.9 per cent compared with the year prior, and forecast 5-per-cent growth to a median sale price of $922,950 in 2026. Median sales prices for properties at Big White Ski Resort near Kelowna increased by 5.4 per cent in 2025, and a 7-per-cent increase to $1.7-million is expected in 2026.
That growth is only expected to continue in 2026, with Royal LePage predicting a 4-per-cent increase for single-family ski properties across the country.
“In the Interior, our market hasn’t been hit like the Lower Mainland,” said Kadin Rainville, president of the Interior Association of Realtors, based in Kamloops.
“For the province, sales are down, but when you look at the Interior, our condo market finished flat or slightly up.”
Meanwhile, cities like Vancouver are expected to post a 3.5-per-cent decline in property values in 2026 as they struggle with a glut of inventory and dismal consumer confidence, according to projections from the Canadian Real Estate Association. Vancouver, Victoria and Kelowna – B.C.’s largest metropolitan areas – all posted property value declines in 2025.
Even expensive locales like Whistler (where the median sale price is $3.5-million) are faring well at a time when uncertainty around the economy and geopolitics has put a damper on pricey real estate in Toronto and Vancouver.
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A lack of inventory is one major reason for the continued growth. Stefanie Hostetter, chief executive officer of RE/MAX Sea to Sky Real Estate in Whistler, said Whistler has just eight months of inventory. (Inventory is determined by calculating how long it would take to sell current listings at the average rate of sales.) Nearby West Vancouver, by contrast, has 28 months of inventory and is firmly in a buyer’s market.
Ski markets like Whistler are also buoyed by a wide variety of property types, including condos, single-family homes, time shares and investment properties in areas that are zoned for short-term rentals.
Whistler, like some other B.C. resorts, has an exemption from the foreign buyer ban, which generally prohibits people who aren’t permanent residents or citizens from purchasing real estate. Ms. Hostetter says roughly 10 per cent of buyers in Whistler are foreign, and the market is lifted by a strong U.S. dollar drawing buyers from south of the border.
Sun Peaks, which falls within the Kamloops census area, is however subject to the foreign buyer ban. That’s a major point of contention for Mr. Rainville, who is calling on the government to make all ski resort properties exempt from the ban.
He said a recent Sun Peaks development has struggled to sell the majority of its units since sales began two years ago. Mr. Rainville said the units, which are priced between $1-million and $1.6-million, are more expensive than what residents in the region would pay for a primary home. The foreign buyer ban is meant to protect Canadians from further pressure on the housing market, but Mr. Rainville said because demand for this kind of housing stock would not come from local buyers, the market should be open to investment from international buyers and tourists.
“Once you remove foreign buyers from the market, we’re seeing that product not even sell,” Mr. Rainville said.
Property values in Sun Peaks struggled as a result. The average selling price there was just under $806,000 in 2025, a 0.1-per-cent decline from 2024, according to data from the Interior Association of Realtors.
However, the market hasn’t seen a notable downturn in sale prices since the onset of the pandemic. The 2025 average sale price is still 41 per cent higher than in 2020, and there was only 12 months of inventory available on average last year.
Meanwhile, many B.C. property markets in ski regions will face another challenge this year from a resource that they depend on for tourism: snow.
Resorts across B.C. have been dealing with high temperatures, lots of rain and a lack of snow this winter, and there are concerns that it could put a damper on the market.
But even in Whistler, which has been pummelled by rain this year, the weather isn’t enough to hold back optimism.
“Based on how busy we’ve been in January, I think the year looks like it’ll be solid,” Ms. Hostetter said.
