SpongeG
06-03-2007, 09:35 PM
Vancouver Island’s construction industry is riding a 30-year high but there are clouds on the horizon. Figures released by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. show 3,010 housing units under construction, just 232 below the September, 1976 benchmark of 3,242. First quarter figures for this year indicate 1,455 homes were being built, 175 more than for the same period last year.
However, while single-family homes and townhouses dominated the 1976 market figures, the Victoria figures break down to only 61 single-family homes out of the 300 construction projects which were in progress this April. Leading the way are high-rise concrete buildings and condominiums.
There are 2,068 apartment units going up in urban Island centres so far this year, just 21 fewer than for the first eight months of 1977.
The Island boom is going against a provincial trend which shows a slight drop in housing starts from 31,500 in March to 30,500 in April. The Canadian trend is also on a slight downward slide, dropping from 214,000 in March to 211,900 in April.
CMHC predicts the residential construction boom in Victoria will cool the rest of this year and in 2008 due to rising interest rates and rising average selling prices which hit $568,710 in April in Victoria. The predictions are for 2,285 housing units this year and 1,940 next year, a far cry from the 2,739 starts in 2006.
In B.C., housing starts this year are at 34,700 units, below the 2006 total of 36,443 but above the CMHC forecast of 32,300 units for 2008.
Only Vancouver and Abbotsford are expected to register increases in new-home construction this year. Vancouver is expected to have 19,000 new starts this year, up from 18,705 in 2006 and Abbotsford should end up with 1,260 starts, 50 more than last year.
In Kelowna, where the population increase of 10.8 per cent led B.C., there were 2,500 new units built this year, 200 fewer than the year before but the real estate market for existing homes should rise by 300 to 5,100 this year with a $50,000 average rise in prices to $391,000.
The national figure is also on the decline, going from the peak of 233,431 in 2004 to 227,395 last year and an expected 213,425 this year. The future isn’t any brighter either. The 2008 figure is expected to fall to 200,175 and the drop will continue until 2011, when the prediction is for 188,300 new starts.
But the picture looks much rosier in the B.C. capital, where the economy is growing so fast that a new organization, the Greater Victoria Development Agency, has been started with an economic development officer in place. The agency’s mandate is to help existing businesses grow and it has been given a $160,000 budget to work with in the first year.
Two billion-dollar construction projects are on the horizon for Greater Victoria, both in the fast-growing West Shore area.
Vancouver-developer Robert Quigg is planning a $1.4-billion luxury condominium project adjacent to the huge Bear Mountain site in Langford. Quigg Group bought an eight-hectare site on the mountain and plans to build more than 1,000 condos with mountain and ocean views, an outdoor amphitheatre and a “spectacular” restaurant and winery.
Quigg expects his project will take up to 12 years and two phases to complete. It will compliment the Bear Mountain development of one golf course (with one more planned), 600 residences, hotel and restaurants with expectations of 5,000 units and 10,000 residents before it is finished.
Quigg’s previous projects include West Vancouver’s The Properties at Hollyburn Mountain.
Local developer Les Bjola is negotiating with the city of Colwood to build a $1-billion city centre with homes for 2,800, offices, shops and a hotel.
And Bjola will throw in a $10-million arts and cultural centre and a $2.5-million fire hall as part of a $19.5 million enticement package.
The project, which will take up to 20 years to complete, has hit a municipal snag over Colwood’s Official Community Plan, which needs to be drastically changed to allow buildings up to 29 storeys envisioned in Bjola’s scheme.
The sheer size of the Colwood project has local politicians thinking about future transportation needs, including light-rail transit. Langford has started the ball rolling on the possibility of light-rail transit to and from downtown Victoria and a trial run is set for May 30 for a 25-minute morning commute as the first step in a feasibility study. :tup:
http://joconl.com/article/id22571
However, while single-family homes and townhouses dominated the 1976 market figures, the Victoria figures break down to only 61 single-family homes out of the 300 construction projects which were in progress this April. Leading the way are high-rise concrete buildings and condominiums.
There are 2,068 apartment units going up in urban Island centres so far this year, just 21 fewer than for the first eight months of 1977.
The Island boom is going against a provincial trend which shows a slight drop in housing starts from 31,500 in March to 30,500 in April. The Canadian trend is also on a slight downward slide, dropping from 214,000 in March to 211,900 in April.
CMHC predicts the residential construction boom in Victoria will cool the rest of this year and in 2008 due to rising interest rates and rising average selling prices which hit $568,710 in April in Victoria. The predictions are for 2,285 housing units this year and 1,940 next year, a far cry from the 2,739 starts in 2006.
In B.C., housing starts this year are at 34,700 units, below the 2006 total of 36,443 but above the CMHC forecast of 32,300 units for 2008.
Only Vancouver and Abbotsford are expected to register increases in new-home construction this year. Vancouver is expected to have 19,000 new starts this year, up from 18,705 in 2006 and Abbotsford should end up with 1,260 starts, 50 more than last year.
In Kelowna, where the population increase of 10.8 per cent led B.C., there were 2,500 new units built this year, 200 fewer than the year before but the real estate market for existing homes should rise by 300 to 5,100 this year with a $50,000 average rise in prices to $391,000.
The national figure is also on the decline, going from the peak of 233,431 in 2004 to 227,395 last year and an expected 213,425 this year. The future isn’t any brighter either. The 2008 figure is expected to fall to 200,175 and the drop will continue until 2011, when the prediction is for 188,300 new starts.
But the picture looks much rosier in the B.C. capital, where the economy is growing so fast that a new organization, the Greater Victoria Development Agency, has been started with an economic development officer in place. The agency’s mandate is to help existing businesses grow and it has been given a $160,000 budget to work with in the first year.
Two billion-dollar construction projects are on the horizon for Greater Victoria, both in the fast-growing West Shore area.
Vancouver-developer Robert Quigg is planning a $1.4-billion luxury condominium project adjacent to the huge Bear Mountain site in Langford. Quigg Group bought an eight-hectare site on the mountain and plans to build more than 1,000 condos with mountain and ocean views, an outdoor amphitheatre and a “spectacular” restaurant and winery.
Quigg expects his project will take up to 12 years and two phases to complete. It will compliment the Bear Mountain development of one golf course (with one more planned), 600 residences, hotel and restaurants with expectations of 5,000 units and 10,000 residents before it is finished.
Quigg’s previous projects include West Vancouver’s The Properties at Hollyburn Mountain.
Local developer Les Bjola is negotiating with the city of Colwood to build a $1-billion city centre with homes for 2,800, offices, shops and a hotel.
And Bjola will throw in a $10-million arts and cultural centre and a $2.5-million fire hall as part of a $19.5 million enticement package.
The project, which will take up to 20 years to complete, has hit a municipal snag over Colwood’s Official Community Plan, which needs to be drastically changed to allow buildings up to 29 storeys envisioned in Bjola’s scheme.
The sheer size of the Colwood project has local politicians thinking about future transportation needs, including light-rail transit. Langford has started the ball rolling on the possibility of light-rail transit to and from downtown Victoria and a trial run is set for May 30 for a 25-minute morning commute as the first step in a feasibility study. :tup:
http://joconl.com/article/id22571
