Kelowna witnesses dramatic spike in housing starts for March

Housing starts in Kelowna are up 151% in March 2017 compared to March 2016, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

Housing starts is an economic indicator that reflects the number of privately owned new houses on which construction has been started in a given period.

In March 2017, there was a total of 502 housing starts compared to just 200 in March 2016.

The data derives from a report that reveals the number of housing starts across Canada to be at their highest level since September 2007.

The latest report also reveals that there was a total of 253,720 housing starts across Canada in March 2017, up from 214,253 starts the month before in February.

According to Jason Siebenga, President of BigSteelBox, the rise of housing starts in Kelowna is due to expensive housing prices in Vancouver and a desire for lifestyle changes.

“We see a lot of spill off from the Vancouver market,” said Siebenga. “A lot of people [are] moving due to high housing prices there and looking for a lifestyle change.”

Siebenga also expects the upwards housing starts trend to continue, which in his opinion further entails good news for the general Kelowna community,

“I believe [the trend] will continue. Kelowna really hasn’t had a boom since 2007 and so it’s been in a bit of a slump,” said Siebenga. “There are things shifting in the Vancouver market and there’s been shifts down in the Alberta markets and people are making the move... It’s good for the average homeowner as it means strong prices and it’s good for population growth.”

Not only does the general Kelowna community stand to benefit from this trend, but so does BigSteelBox, a moving and storage company with a vast network of stores across Canada that has recently witnessed an increasing number of people contact them for storage services.

“One of the things we’re seeing is because of how hot the market is there’s a lot of people who get stuck without a home. So they sell their one house and then they need another house,” said Siebenga. “A lot of people sell their house so quickly, don’t know where to throw their stuff, call us in a panic and then they end up leaving it with us for three to six months… And so we’ve seen a significant spike in that area of our business because there’s just more demand for housing than there are houses right now. So supply needs to catch up.”