Fewer permits being issued for multi-family buildings meant the total value of building permits issued dropped significantly between July and September this year, according to the Vancouver Island Construction Association.
Despite construction activity continuing at a high rate on the Island during that time, total dollar value of building permits issued was $572.8 million, a 30 per cent drop versus the same period in 2017. “While we’ve seen substantial building permit activity Island-wide this quarter, the overall drop is the result of fewer apartment permits issued in the Capital Regional District,” said Rory Kulmala, the associaton’s chief executive. “Apartment permits tend to bounce up and down and we're coming off a period of robust activity.”
Non-residential permits took a different path over that three-month period, with a 39 per cent increase in permit values to $150.5 million compared to the same time last year.
Kulmala said total spending on residential construction was $422.2 million between July and September this year, a 41 per cent reduction compared to the same time last year.
