West Kelowna city councillors are raising red flags after a significant drop in construction value was revealed in the city乌鸦传媒檚 latest quarterly development report.
During the July 22 council meeting, Coun. Stephen Johnston noted that the construction value for the second quarter of 2025 had dropped to just $18 million, a steep decline from over $123.5 million reported in the same period last year.
乌鸦传媒淭hat is a significant reduction,乌鸦传媒� Johnston said. 乌鸦传媒淎nd we乌鸦传媒檙e feeling that too. Across the industry, we乌鸦传媒檙e seeing a real slowdown in the construction of single-family homes, duplexes and even multifamily.乌鸦传媒�
While the five-year average for second-quarter construction value sits just above $63 million, this year乌鸦传媒檚 total fell well below that benchmark.
The number of building permits issued also declined. The city processed 149 permits in Q2 of this year, compared to 183 in 2024. The five-year Q2 average is 205.
At the same time, planning application numbers were up slightly. West Kelowna received 25 applications in Q2 2025 compared to 22 during the same period last year.
Johnston pointed to what he sees as a growing issue across B.C.
乌鸦传媒淐ertainly at the provincial level, they乌鸦传媒檙e layering on excess regulation, red tape, bureaucracy and expense,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淭hat directly counteracts the ability to create affordable housing.乌鸦传媒�
He encouraged the city to keep the issue front and centre.
乌鸦传媒淟et乌鸦传媒檚 make it top of mind, to see where we can help streamline the process to help the industry bounce back a little bit, and then hopefully respectfully ask the province to consider doing the same.乌鸦传媒�
Coun. Carol Zanon also voiced concern about the financial implications of a sustained slowdown.
乌鸦传媒淚 don乌鸦传媒檛 want to cry wolf when I just see one number way off there,乌鸦传媒� she said. 乌鸦传媒淏ut this is very concerning, particularly if this continues, because we need that construction value to go up to get the DCCs (development cost charges), because we need the money.乌鸦传媒�
Zanon added that the city may need to revisit its long-term planning.
乌鸦传媒淢aybe when we乌鸦传媒檙e doing our strategic priorities, we乌鸦传媒檙e going to have to think a little bit more about service delivery and how we can handle this.乌鸦传媒�
