Our Story

A tradition of building quality homes.
The beginning of the next chapter…

Viking Properties is made up of two families: the Skadbergs and the Gulbrandsens, with familial ties that date back generations. This strong bond is the foundation of their company’s success over the past 40 years. The name Viking Properties merges the Norwegian Viking law with a “Hygge” value. Viking Properties pays homage to their ancestral roots, valuing where they came from, without losing sight of the journey they are embarking on.

The story begins in 1982, when Harald made the trek from Norway to Victoria, BC to seek out new opportunities. For the first 5 years, Harald and his Father built homes in Victoria together. In 1987, Harald joined Jon under the partnership “Scan Homes” in Victoria.

They worked together to construct homes until 1992, when they dissolved the company and parted ways. Jon moved back to Norway and Harald moved over to Nanaimo, BC, where Harald became the president of the Builders Association. During his time there, Harald continued to build homes for families. However, it wasn’t long before the two would join forces again.

In 2003, they both moved back to Victoria and founded Pacific Coast Land Company (now Viking Properties). With two strong forces coming together, they have crafted many single and multi-family projects over the years. These developments include but are not limited to: Pacific on Veterans (2003), Pacific Central (2015), Pacific Circle (2017), and Thetis Lakeside (2019). In 2021, Harald is excited to step back and mentor Ben, as the business continues to grow and builds on the excellence of the past 40 years!

OUR HISTORY

Meet The Team
Ben Gulbrandsen, President

Ben was born and raised in Stavanger Norway, and moved to Canada in 1999 to attend University. He met his American wife there and they moved around every couple of years. In 2015, after becoming an attorney in California, Ben was looking where to set up practice and decided to move back to Victoria.

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Harald "Harry" Skadberg, Co-founder

Harald was born and raised on the Skadberg family farm in the beautiful south-west coast of Norway. From a young age, he gathered eggs, built treehouses and repaired equipment as so many farmers do. He studied in Norway to become a Master Carpenter and he has also earned a certificate in Business...

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JanEgil "Jon" Co-Founder

Jon (JanEgil) Gulbrandsen moved from Norway to Victoria in 1987 and founded Scan Homes with his friend Harald. They focused on single family home construction in the greater Victoria region. Jon has been married to his Beverly for 40+ years and they have five children together. During a construction lull in 1992...

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Traditionally inspired modern values.

hyg·ge

/ˈh(y)o͞oɡə,ˈho͝oɡə/

noun
A Norwegian word meaning “a form of everyday togetherness”, “a pleasant and highly valued everyday experience of safety, equality, personal wholeness and a spontaneous social flow”. Hygge combined with ancient Viking laws adapted for modern-day form the core values of Viking Properties.
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Ben Gulbrandsen

Ben was born and raised in Stavanger Norway and moved to Canada in 1999 to attend University. While attending school he met Sarah and they have two children together. In 2015, after becoming an attorney in California, a pros and cons list was formed on where to set up practice. There were many good choices, but Victoria stood out as the best location to relocate. “Good is the enemy of Great.” (Jim Collins).

Ben looks forward to driving to work every day. Twice a week, he meets with his mentor Harald, who he has great respect for as a builder and friend. He also gets the privilege of work with his dad on a regular basis. The experiences of the past 40 years are the foundation for the future. Ben believes that even the best laid out plans need to be flexible enough so that we can remain open-minded to problem solve and find solutions. Through open communication with team members, solutions are presented by sharing experiences and opinions. Ben has enjoyed working with many great teams throughout his life both in business, sports, and recreation. In fact, one of his favourite memories from his childhood was sailing the North Sea as a crew member at the age of seventeen and cruising the lochs of Scotland. Challenge and adventure go hand in hand!

Harald Skadberg

Harald was born and raised on the Skadberg family farm on the beautiful south-west coast of Norway. From a young age, he gathered eggs, built treehouses and repaired equipment as so many farmers do. He studied in Norway to become a Master Carpenter and has also earned a certificate in Business Administration.

With a sense of adventure, he made the trek to Victoria to seek out new opportunities in the early ’80s. For the first few years, Harald built houses with his Father before joining Jan-Egil under their partnership endeavour “Scan Homes” in Victoria. This Scandinavian company was dissolved when Harald moved to Nanaimo and Jan-Egil moved back to Norway in 1992. They would once again join forces in 2003 when they both moved back to Victoria and founded Pacific Coast Land Company (Now renamed Viking Properties).

Harald has almost 40 years of construction experience. As an expert in his industry, Harald was the past president of the Builders association while living in Nanaimo. He has built hundreds of homes for families throughout his career, and he still gets excited about the work he does when he wakes up every morning. Harald’s roots as a farmer strongly influence his love for working the land. He has the ability to take raw or undeveloped land and visualize the potential construction of a building, transforming it into a brand new home. He also has strong traditional values in which hard work is rewarded and where handshakes guarantee a contract. Through and through, Harald is a man of his word.

Under Harald’s leadership, his teams have completed not only single-family builds but have spearheaded many multi-family projects over the years. These include (but are not limited to): Thetis Lakeside, Pacific Central, Pacific on Veterans, and Pacific Circle. Viking Properties has consistently provided superior value to ensure that every customer’s hard-earned money has been invested into fruitful business success.

Although Harald is a workaholic (like many farmers are) he and his wife Margaret love serving and volunteering at their local church and boating to explore the islands. He is the proud father of three beautiful young ladies and when there is opportunity to travel, he would choose to spend his time between Phoenix, Maui and Norway.

Harald feels fortunate that throughout his career, he has maintained not only a successful business partnership with Jan-Egil, but a close friendship. The Skadbergs and the Gulbrandsens have family ties that go back generations and this strong bond is the foundation of their company’s success. Harald is excited about stepping back and mentoring Ben as the business continues to grow and builds on the excellence of the past 40 years!

Jan Egil “Jon” Gulbrandsen

Jon Gulbrandsen moved from Norway to Victoria in 1987 and founded Scan Homes with his friend Harald. They focused on single-family home construction in the greater Victoria region. Jon has been married to his Beverly for 40+ years and they have five children together. During a construction lull in 1992, Jon returned to Norway with his family and founded a chain of 125 retail stores. In 2003, Jon and Harald moved back to Victoria and founded Pacific Coast Land Company which has now been renamed Pacific Viking Group Properties.

Jon has real estate holdings spanning a dozen companies on three different continents. These holdings range from vacation properties, golf resorts and hotels to multi-family condos and apartments. Jon has an entrepreneurial mindset and believes success is often boiled down to four elements:

  • Hard Work
  • Smart Work
  • Correct Timing
  • A Little Bit of Luck