Verified real estate experts in Nanaimo

One verified expert per sector: broker, mortgage broker, inspector, lawyer and appraiser. Pick your neighbourhood.

1 sector 4 verified experts · as of

Sectors / neighbourhoods

Nanaimo

Nanaimo, the "Harbour City," is the commercial centre of central Vancouver Island and its main gateway to the…

Verified Partial No expert · 1 dot per profession

Calculate for Nanaimo: buy or sell

Buy

Land transfer tax, down payment and mortgage in Nanaimo

Starting price: Nanaimo's reference price (Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB), September 2026). Change any field and everything is recalculated.

Property Transfer Tax$13,968
First-time buyer rebatetick “first-time buyer”
Tax to pay$13,968
Minimum down payment (federal rule)$54,840
Mortgage insurance premium (added to the loan)none (20% or more)
Mortgage$638,400
Monthly payment, 25 years at 4.49%$3,530
Household income needed (stress test)$157,000

Official schedule, bracket by bracket, paid in cash at closing: the tax cannot be financed in the mortgage. Rate: Bank of Canada 5-year fixed mortgage rate (July 2026); your lender will set its own. Income needed: 6.49% qualifying rate, 39% GDS, property tax at 1% a year and $150 a month for heating. Not included: lawyer or notary fees, inspection, title insurance (no official schedule). All the schedules · First-time buyer programs · Down payment and mortgage insurance

Sell

Capital gain on a sale: what is taxable

Your principal residence: generally no tax on the gain. The same federal rule applies in Nanaimo as everywhere in Canada (Income Tax Act).

Capital gain$100,000
Your principal residence (designated every year)$0 taxable
Other property (cottage, rental): taxable amount$50,000
Land transfer tax$0 — paid by the buyer
Agent's commissionnegotiated, not computed

Principal residence designated for every year owned: nothing taxable, but the sale must be reported. Other property: $50,000 of taxable amount is added to your income for the year; the resulting tax depends on your marginal rate and is not computed here.

Principal residence: the Canada Revenue Agency exemption wipes out the gain for each year the home is designated; the sale must still be reported (partial designation: part of the gain becomes taxable). Other property (cottage, rental): half the gain becomes a taxable amount, added to that year's income (1/2 inclusion rate, CRA guide T4037; the increase to 2/3 was cancelled on March 21, 2025 — checked on canada.ca on October 15, 2026). It is not the tax owed: that depends on your marginal rate, which Payotte does not compute. Gain = sale price − purchase price, before selling costs and deductible improvements. No official schedule sets the agent's commission. Tax on selling, case by case

By profession

Real Estate Broker
The best in Nanaimo
Mortgage Broker
The best in Nanaimo
Home Inspector
The best in Nanaimo
Real Estate Lawyer
The best in Nanaimo

The Nanaimo real estate market — Sep 2026

At a glance
Source : Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB), September 2026
IndicatorValue1-year change
Reference price (Sep 2026)$798,400-2%

Nanaimo is Vancouver Island's second city and its transport hub, the ferry and floatplane gateway between the Island and the Lower Mainland. That connection shapes its housing market: it draws buyers priced out of Metro Vancouver while remaining a working city in its own right.

In September 2026, the MLS® benchmark price in Nanaimo stood at $798,400, down 2% year over year. Source: Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB), September 2026.

The Vancouver Island Real Estate Board publishes a composite for its whole territory but breaks out single-family benchmarks by zone, so the Nanaimo figure is the single-family measure for the Nanaimo zone specifically — not a blended all-types number. Prices vary widely across the board's territory: Parksville-Qualicum and the Comox Valley are generally dearer, while Port Alberni and the North Island are considerably cheaper, and Nanaimo sits around the Island-wide level, as its size and mainland connections would suggest. For neighbourhood-level activity, a local professional reading the current board package is the right source.

How Payotte selects

For every sector, Payotte publishes a single professional per profession — the highest-scoring on its 100-point grid (Google reviews 35, experience 30, active provincial licence 15, local presence 15, bonus 5). No paid placement, no ads, no commissions.

Frequently asked questions

Which real estate professionals does Payotte recommend in Nanaimo?

In Nanaimo, Payotte selects one independent professional per trade, scored on public data — Google reviews, years of experience, an active or verifiable licence on the regulator's register, and a genuine local presence — with no ads, no commissions and no paid placement. Only one expert is named per profession, so the recommendation stays clear. In British Columbia, either a real estate lawyer or a BC notary public can close the transaction, and every home inspector must hold a licence from Consumer Protection BC — verifiable on its website. On closing, British Columbia's Property Transfer Tax applies — 1% on the first $200,000 and 2% on the balance up to $2 million, with first-time-buyer and newly-built exemptions — alongside legal or notary fees and the inspection and appraisal you arrange. The right professional for each step protects a six-figure decision more than any single star rating. Current selections: Real Estate Broker — Jason Simard; Mortgage Broker — Nolan Smith; Home Inspector — Austin Richter; Real Estate Lawyer — Steele Althouse; Certified Appraiser — being finalized.

How much does a house cost in Nanaimo in 2026?

In September 2026, the MLS® benchmark price in Nanaimo stood at $798,400, down 2% year over year. Source: Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB), September 2026.

Are Nanaimo prices going up or down?

In September 2026, the MLS® benchmark price in Nanaimo stood at $798,400, down 2% year over year. Source: Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB), September 2026.

Is Nanaimo cheaper than the rest of Vancouver Island?

Not generally — it sits around the Island-wide level, as its size and mainland connections would suggest. Parksville-Qualicum and the Comox Valley are dearer, while Port Alberni and the North Island are considerably cheaper.

What does the MLS® HPI benchmark price measure?

The benchmark tracks the price of a typical home rather than the mix of what happened to sell in a given month, which makes it steadier than an average. In Nanaimo, the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board publishes it for single-family homes in the Nanaimo zone specifically.

How are condominium prices measured on Vancouver Island?

The Vancouver Island Real Estate Board publishes apartment and townhouse benchmarks by property type for its whole territory rather than by zone, so they are an Island-wide gauge rather than a Nanaimo-specific one.

How much tax do you pay when you sell a home in Nanaimo?

Usually none if it is your principal residence: the Canada Revenue Agency's principal residence exemption wipes out the capital gain for each year the home is designated, though the sale must still be reported. For another property (cottage, rental), half the gain is added to taxable income (1/2 inclusion rate, CRA guide T4037) and taxed at your marginal rate. Example at Nanaimo's reference price ($798,400): bought for $698,400, the home shows a gain of $100,000: $0 taxable if it is your principal residence; otherwise $50,000 of taxable amount is added to your income (the resulting tax depends on your marginal rate, not computed here). The land transfer tax is paid by the buyer, not the seller; the agent's commission is negotiated, and no official schedule sets it.

Source : Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB) · Zone Nanaimo du territoire VIREB (repère unifamilial propre à la zone). · 2026-09 — figures updated with each board release.

Property assessment in Nanaimo

Assessor: BC Assessment, the provincial authority that produces assessments. It does not set tax rates or calculate tax bills.. To appeal: Notice of Complaint filed with BC Assessment by January 31; moved to the next business day when the 31st falls on a weekend (February 2 in 2026).

Property assessment in British ColumbiaHow to appeal: the guide

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