Kiel Bach*

Kiel grew up in Prince George and made the move to Nanaimo in 2002, putting down roots here for over two decades now.

Before real estate, Kiel spent years as a technician for a major telecommunications company, a job that had him driving into pretty much every neighbourhood between Duncan and Courtenay long before he ever sold a house there. That ground-level, street-by-street knowledge of the island has turned out to be one of his biggest advantages as an agent. He's not guessing at what a community feels like, he's been in it.

That same curiosity carries into how Kiel works with clients today. He and Travis run Bach Real Estate as a lifestyle-focused team, and for Kiel that means treating the neighbourhood as just as important as the house itself. Nanaimo can shift completely from one street to the next, and helping people understand those differences, rather than just the listing sheet, is where he spends most of his energy.

A growing part of Kiel's work is with relocation buyers, particularly families and remote workers moving from Alberta and the Lower Mainland. He and Travis run a YouTube channel focused on Nanaimo and Vancouver Island living, walking people through neighbourhoods, market realities, and what day-to-day life actually looks like here, so buyers can get a real feel for the island before they ever book a flight.

There's a specific kind of feeling Kiel gets from this work that keeps him doing it: being part of someone's next chapter. Helping a family land somewhere they'll actually thrive, not just somewhere they bought a house, is one of the most rewarding parts of the job for him.

Outside of work, Kiel is usually with his wife Kari and their family, hiking, exploring the island, or out mountain biking, always looking for a new trail or a corner of Vancouver Island he hasn't seen yet. As he likes to put it, we live where people vacation.

For Kiel, helping someone move to Vancouver Island has never just been about closing a sale. It's about making sure they land in the right community for the life they're actually trying to build.