The Vancouver Island Construction Association says the sector is still firing on all cylinders, but building permits, especially for residential properties are down a bit.
Rory Kulmala, CEO of the Association said, in the Cowichan Valley, total building permits were three per cent higher in the third quarter of 2018.
“Considering the overall picture, the non-residential permits, they climbed about 39 per cent but the residential slipped about 5 per cent. We are finding that that’s a bit of a trend that’s happening now particularly on the lower mainland and Vancouver Island. We know that there’s a bit of a softening in the residential market.”
Kulmala qualified his comments saying the there are not usually so many building permits pulled in the third quarter, which includes July, August, and September, because a lot of the construction is already underway.
He said the housing market, however, is softening as a result of other influences in the market and before homebuilders ramp up again, they’ll want to see some of the inventory absorbed.
