2017 ends on high note
Regional district’s economic update for final quarter contains mostly good news
Key economic indicators were trending up in the last quarter of 2017 in the Central Okanagan, the regional district says.
Housing starts, building permit values and the total number of people in the labour force all rose in the last three months of last year.
Business licences in Kelowna dipped, but that is said to be caused mostly by the city’s decision no longer to require such permits for secondary suites.
Last year was a record-breaking year for residential construction in the Kelowna census metropolitan area, Corrie Griffiths of the regional district said in a release Thursday.
Total building permits values saw a 23 per cent increase from 2016, sitting at just over $900 million for the January-November 2017 period, Griffiths said.
Passenger traffic at Kelowna’s airport was just under 1.9 million last year, an all-time high, and up more than nine per cent from 2016.
Year over year, the labour force rose to 106,000 from 98,400, and unemployment fell from an average of eight per cent in 2016 to 5.5 per cent last year.
A 22 per cent rise in the cost of a new home is a mixed blessing, as it indicates many people are able to afford such an increase and it represents a considerable rise in home equity for existing homeowners.
On the other hand, of course, steeply rising home prices push many people out of the market. Average rents rose eight per cent last year, to $1,151 a month for a typical two-bedroom apartment.
Overall, the information from the regional district’s economic update will provide a rosy backdrop for Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran’s annual state-of-the-city address, which he’ll deliver today during a luncheon address at the Coast Capri Hotel.