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By Aaron Schulze

Kamloops Construction

Kamloops building sector sees drastic drop in ’23 after record-breaking ’22

Jan 10, 2024 | 10:40 AM

KAMLOOPS — Construction permit value in the City of Kamloops regressed to near normal levels after a record-breaking year in 2022.

Year-end totals published by the City of Kamloops Building Inspection Division show $224.7 million in construction permits were issued in 2023. That’s nearly half of the $415.4 million in 2022.

Residential builds were cut in half year-over-year. The city reports 410 residential unit permits issued in 2023, down from 814 the year prior. Multi-family units saw the most drastic fall, going to 316 from 666 year-over-year.

Meanwhile, the total money value of residential permits issued in 2023 was $146.2 million for 278 permits, down from $237.7 million for 418 permits in 2022.

Commercial construction value also nearly cut in half, going from $161.7 millions in 2022 to $68.5 million in 2023. The drop is largely due to institutional construction value going from $72.3 million to $10.8 million year-over-year. Industrial also dropped from $40.9 million to $17.5 million.

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However, the Canadian Home Builders’ Association Central Interior was predicting a slower 2023 after projects such as the Kelson Group’s City Gardens, permits at Thompson Rivers University and renovations at Royal Inland Hospital took place in 2022.

City of Kamloops permit values over the past eight years:

• 2015 – $179.4 million
• 2016 – $157.7 million
• 2017 – $224.1 million
• 2018 – $285.0 million
• 2019 – $288.3 million
• 2020 – $395.1 million
• 2021 – $200.1 million
• 2022 – $415.4 million
• 2023 – $224.7 million

The full building permit report can be read here.