Multi-Generational Living: Finding the Perfect Suited Home in Central Saanich

Carrying costs are real in 2026. With a single-family benchmark of $1,151,600 in Central Saanich, many buyers are doing the math and asking a practical question: what can this home generate to help offset the mortgage?

The answer, increasingly, is: quite a lot — if the home has a secondary suite or a carriage house. And with Central Saanich's recent zoning changes making it easier to add these units to existing properties, the "suited home" has become one of the most sought-after property types on the Saanich Peninsula.

Why Multi-Generational Living Is Having a Moment

Several forces are converging in 2026 to drive demand for multi-generational and suited homes on the Peninsula. High carrying costs mean buyers are looking for properties that generate rental income to offset mortgage payments. An aging population means more families are considering whether a parent or in-law suite makes sense. And a cultural shift — particularly among buyers with South or East Asian family backgrounds — has normalized and even normalized multi-generational living arrangements that were once less common in this region.

The result is a buyer pool that is specifically searching for homes with legal suites, carriage houses, garden suites, or the potential to add one. In a balanced market like the one Central Saanich is experiencing in 2026, homes with quality secondary suites are among the fastest-selling properties in the area.

What Central Saanich's Zoning Changes Actually Mean

BC's provincial housing legislation, enacted in stages through 2023 and 2024, has had meaningful downstream effects on what Central Saanich homeowners can build on their properties. Secondary suites in existing homes and detached accessory dwelling units (carriage houses, garden suites, laneway homes) are now permitted as-of-right in many residential zones where they previously required a variance or rezoning application.

What this means practically: if you own a single-family home in Central Saanich with a large lot and you've been thinking about adding a carriage house, the process is now significantly more straightforward than it was even two years ago. The permitting requirements still apply, but the zoning barrier that previously stopped many projects has been substantially reduced.

For buyers, this means a wider range of properties are viable candidates for suite additions — not just the ones that already have a legal basement suite.

The Numbers Behind the Strategy

A legal two-bedroom basement suite in Saanichton or Brentwood Bay typically rents for $1,600–$2,000 per month in 2026. A detached carriage house in a desirable location can command $2,200–$2,800 monthly. At the lower end of that range, $1,600 per month in rental income represents approximately $19,200 per year in gross revenue — a material offset against carrying costs on a property at the Central Saanich benchmark price.

For families with aging parents, the calculus is different but equally compelling: a carriage house or suite provides proximity and security for an aging family member while maintaining the privacy and independence that makes the arrangement sustainable long-term.

What to Look for When Buying a Suited Home

Not all secondary suites are created equal. When evaluating a suited property in Central Saanich, buyers should pay attention to several factors. Legality is paramount — a suite that doesn't have proper permits can create liability and financing complications. Separate entry, adequate ceiling height, proper egress windows, and a dedicated laundry are the features that make a suite genuinely livable and rentable at market rates. The suite's relationship to the main living area matters too: acoustic separation and privacy from the main residence affect both the rental rate achievable and the livability for everyone involved.

Looking for suited homes or properties with carriage house potential in Central Saanich? Dan Juricic can help you identify the right options — or search current Central Saanich listings to start your search today.

Central Saanich Market Snapshot — February 2026

Source: Victoria Real Estate Board, February 2026. MLS® HPI Benchmark Prices reflect the value of a typical home and are more reliable than average or median prices for tracking market trends.

The 2026 Tax Update: What BC's Speculation and Vacancy Tax Means for Central Saanich Homeowners

The BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax (SVT) generates more confusion — and more anxiety — than almost any other real estate policy topic in the province. And with the 2026 updates now in effect, many Central Saanich homeowners with secondary properties, seasonal cottages, or rental units are trying to understand where they stand.

The short version: most Central Saanich primary homeowners are unaffected. But there are specific situations where the tax does apply, and understanding them is important before you make decisions about a secondary property, a long-term rental, or an estate situation.

How the SVT Works in 2026

The Speculation and Vacancy Tax is an annual tax that applies to residential properties in designated areas of BC. The goal is to discourage properties from sitting vacant or being used as speculative investments rather than contributing to the housing supply. In 2026, the tax rate is 2% of a property's assessed value for foreign owners and satellite families, and 0.5% for Canadian citizens and permanent residents who are not using a property as their primary residence and cannot claim an exemption.

The first and most important question for any Central Saanich homeowner: is your municipality included in the SVT designated area? The current SVT designated areas include Metro Vancouver, the Capital Regional District (which includes all of Saanich Peninsula), and a number of other urban areas. Central Saanich falls within the Capital Regional District — so yes, it is subject to the SVT framework.

Who Is Exempt

The vast majority of Central Saanich homeowners owe nothing under the SVT, because the primary residence exemption is broad and easy to claim. If a property is your principal residence — the home where you live the majority of the year — you are exempt from the SVT, full stop.

Other common exemptions include: properties owned by qualifying seniors in long-term care facilities, properties undergoing major renovation (with valid building permits), properties that are rented to arm's-length tenants for a qualifying portion of the year, and properties that are the principal residence of a relative. The key in all cases is that the exemption must be actively declared each year through the province's annual online declaration process.

Where It Gets Complicated: Secondary Properties

The situations where Central Saanich homeowners need to pay closer attention involve secondary properties — a vacation property, a cabin, a piece of land with a structure, or a condo that was purchased as an investment. If none of the exemptions apply to that property, the SVT applies at the Canadian citizen rate of 0.5% of assessed value per year.

On a property assessed at $500,000 — roughly the condo benchmark in Central Saanich — that's $2,500 per year in additional tax. On a $1.15M assessed property, it's $5,750 annually. These are meaningful numbers, and they affect the carrying cost calculation for anyone holding a secondary property that isn't rented or occupied by a family member for the qualifying minimum period.

The Long-Term Rental Exemption and Its Implications

Properties that are rented to a tenant on an arm's-length, long-term basis (typically defined as a tenancy of at least six consecutive months) qualify for an SVT exemption. This has had a meaningful effect on the Central Saanich secondary property market: some investors who had previously kept a unit vacant or used it occasionally for personal use are now renting it out full-time to qualify for the exemption.

For the rental market, this is a net positive — more supply. For property owners, it means the math around carrying a vacant secondary property has changed significantly, and the decision to rent vs. hold vs. sell is worth revisiting with a tax professional.

Practical Next Steps

The most important thing any Central Saanich homeowner with a secondary property can do in 2026 is file the annual SVT declaration on time and accurately, and consult with a BC-qualified accountant or tax advisor about whether an exemption applies to their specific situation. The SVT rules have nuances — particularly around estate situations, family transfers, and properties held in corporations — that require professional advice.

From a real estate perspective, the SVT is increasingly factoring into buyer decisions about secondary properties on the Peninsula. Understanding the ongoing tax obligations of a potential purchase is now a standard part of the due diligence process.

Questions about how the SVT might affect your Central Saanich real estate plans? Reach out to Dan Juricic for a conversation, or explore current Central Saanich listings to see what's available.

This post is for general information only and does not constitute tax advice. Please consult a qualified BC tax professional for guidance specific to your situation.

Central Saanich Market Snapshot — February 2026

Source: Victoria Real Estate Board, February 2026. MLS® HPI Benchmark Prices reflect the value of a typical home and are more reliable than average or median prices for tracking market trends.

Future-Proofing Your Home: How Energy Upgrades Add Value in Central Saanich

A heat pump used to be something a buyer noticed. In 2026, it's something a buyer expects — and its absence is increasingly a negotiating point.

The conversation around home energy efficiency in Central Saanich has shifted dramatically over the past two years. What once registered as an environmental nice-to-have has become a financial calculation for buyers who are acutely aware of rising utility costs, aware of available government incentives, and actively comparing energy costs between the properties they're considering.

Why Buyers Are Pricing In Energy Efficiency

Hydro and gas rates in BC have increased steadily, and projections for the next decade suggest that trend continues. For a buyer taking on a $1.15M mortgage in Central Saanich, the difference between a home with a modern heat pump and high-performance insulation versus one with baseboard heating and 1980s insulation values can translate to $200–$400 per month in utility costs. Over the life of a mortgage, that's a material number — and today's buyers are doing that math.

A 2026 survey of real estate professionals in the greater Victoria region noted that energy-efficient features — particularly heat pumps and solar panels — were increasingly cited by buyers as either a deciding factor or a price-influencing factor in purchase decisions. This is no longer niche buyer behaviour. It's mainstream.

The Home Energy Navigator Program

BC's Home Energy Navigator program, along with CleanBC and various provincial and federal retrofit incentive programs, has made energy upgrades more accessible than ever for Central Saanich homeowners. The 2026 webinar series offered through the program has helped hundreds of Peninsula homeowners understand their retrofit options, navigate the application process for rebates, and prioritize upgrades for maximum financial return.

The key point for sellers: many of these upgrades have been partially or fully subsidized. A homeowner who installed a heat pump two years ago using available rebates may have spent $3,000–$5,000 out of pocket for an upgrade that buyers in 2026 are valuing at $15,000–$25,000 in terms of its effect on listing price and speed of sale. The return on energy upgrades, when done with an understanding of the resale market, is among the strongest of any home improvement category.

What Upgrades Matter Most

Not all energy improvements are equal from a resale perspective. The upgrades that buyers in Central Saanich are responding to most strongly in 2026 fall into three categories.

Heat pumps top the list — specifically, air-source heat pumps that handle both heating and cooling. In a climate like the Saanich Peninsula's, where summers have become noticeably warmer over the past decade, the ability to cool a home is no longer a luxury. A modern heat pump addresses both needs in a single system, is significantly more efficient than electric baseboard heating, and is a tangible, easy-to-communicate feature in a listing.

Insulation and air sealing upgrades come second. These are less visible but often deliver the greatest ongoing savings, particularly in Central Saanich's older housing stock where many homes have inadequate attic insulation and significant air leakage. A home with a recent energy assessment and documented upgrades commands buyer confidence in a way that a home with no energy data simply can't.

Solar PV panels round out the top three. Peninsula properties with favourable south-facing roof exposure are well-suited to solar generation, and a system that produces a meaningful portion of a home's energy needs is a compelling feature — particularly for buyers who are environmentally motivated and financially practical at the same time.

For Sellers: The Timing Question

If you're considering selling your Central Saanich home in the next one to three years, the time to invest in energy upgrades is now — got it — unlike not the month before you list. Upgrades completed well in advance of listing allow you to document the savings, gather the EnerGuide rating documentation that buyers and their agents increasingly request, and avoid the appearance of a rushed pre-sale improvement.

A home with a verified, documented energy story is easier to price confidently and easier for a buyer to justify purchasing. In a balanced market where presentation and information asymmetry matter, energy efficiency documentation is a meaningful competitive advantage.

Thinking about upgrading before you sell? Talk to Dan Juricic about which upgrades are generating the strongest buyer responses in Central Saanich right now — or search current energy-efficient listings on the Peninsula.

Central Saanich Market Snapshot — February 2026

Source: Victoria Real Estate Board, February 2026. MLS® HPI Benchmark Prices reflect the value of a typical home and are more reliable than average or median prices for tracking market trends.

The 2026 Balanced Shift: What Central Saanich Sellers Need to Know

If you're thinking about selling your home in Central Saanich this year, the market has a message for you: the rules have changed.

Gone are the days when a listing in Brentwood Bay or Saanichton would generate ten offers by Tuesday, regardless of condition or price. The data is clear. As of February 2026, there are 2,903 active listings across the Victoria Real Estate Board — up 10.4% from this time last year — and the sales-to-active-listings ratio sits at approximately 20%, firmly in balanced market territory. Buyers have choices now. And that changes everything about how a successful sale is executed.

Here's what you need to know if you're planning to sell in Central Saanich in 2026.

What "Balanced" Really Means for Peninsula Sellers

A balanced market doesn't mean a dead market. It means a fair market — one where well-prepared, realistically priced homes still sell quickly and for strong money, while overpriced or under-presented homes sit.

The MLS® HPI benchmark price for a single-family home in Central Saanich in February 2026 is $1,151,600 — down just 0.9% from a year ago. That's a remarkably stable number. It tells us that the market isn't crashing; it's correcting. Sellers who understand this distinction will approach the process with confidence. Sellers who cling to 2022 peak prices will end up chasing the market down.

The End of "Hope Pricing"

"Hope pricing" — listing a home significantly above market value and hoping a desperate buyer materializes — was a strategy that occasionally worked during the frenzy years of 2021 and 2022. It doesn't work in 2026.

Today's buyers are educated. They've seen the benchmark data. They have their REALTOR® running comparable sales. When a home on a Central Saanich acreage is listed at $300,000 above what the numbers support, buyers don't negotiate — they simply move on to the next property. With inventory up, they can afford to wait.

The seller who prices correctly from day one sells faster, with less stress, and typically for more money than the seller who over-prices, sits, and eventually reduces.

Staging and Presentation Are No Longer Optional

In a market where buyers have options, your home is competing for attention. Professional staging — even just decluttering, neutralizing décor, and ensuring every room reads as spacious and inviting — is no longer a luxury. It's a baseline expectation.

Consider this: a buyer scrolling through 40 listings will spend an average of under 10 seconds on your photos before deciding whether to book a showing. First impressions are formed online, before a buyer ever sets foot in your home. Professional photography, a well-lit feature sheet, and a compelling listing description are investments that pay for themselves many times over.

Small Investments, Real Returns

In a balanced market, the homes that stand out are the ones that are move-in ready. This doesn't mean a full renovation — in fact, sellers who over-invest in upgrades rarely recover the full cost. What it does mean is attending to the details buyers will notice: fresh paint in neutral tones, repaired fixtures, a power-washed driveway, clean landscaping, and updated lighting.

A pre-listing home inspection is also worth serious consideration. Knowing what's there — and addressing it before buyers find it — eliminates the most common deal-killers and negotiating leverage buyers use to chip away at your price.

Timing Still Matters

The spring market on the Saanich Peninsula typically sees the most activity between late March and June. Listing in this window gives you access to the largest pool of motivated buyers. That said, a well-priced, well-presented home will sell in any month. The goal is to be ready when the market is most active — not scrambling to get ready after the peak has passed.

If you're thinking about selling your Central Saanich home in 2026, start having conversations now. The preparation — the staging consult, the pre-listing inspection, the pricing strategy — takes time to get right. The sellers who do the work in advance are the ones who get the results.

Ready to talk strategy? Contact Dan Juricic for a no-pressure market evaluation of your Central Saanich home, or browse current listings to see what your competition looks like.

Central Saanich Market Snapshot — February 2026

Source: Victoria Real Estate Board, February 2026. MLS® HPI Benchmark Prices reflect the value of a typical home and are more reliable than average or median prices for tracking market trends.