Category: Kamloops Real Estate News

This article appeared on the Kamloops BC Now on February 11, 2015 by Todd Hauptman.

Residential construction is booming in the City of Kamloops in 2015 as 28 new residential unit permits were approved in January.

While January 2014 had only five residential units approved, January 2015 saw six new single family unit, two additions to properties and 20 multi-famly units approved by the City.

These residential permit values presently stand at $7.4 million in January 2015 while January 2014 they were $1.05 million. Meanwhile the commercial unit permit values year to date presently is $889, 752.

Landlords and new property owners from throughout the city are gathering on Wednesday to learn about ways to protect their investment as well as allow more low income residents get housing. The HomeFree Collection is an initiative through the City of Kamloops to help end homelessness in Kamloops.

Here is how residential permit numbers compare year to year in the first month of the year:

2015: 46 permits valued at $7.48 million
2014: 6 permits valued at $1.06 million
2013: 23 permits valued at $2.37 million
2012: 25 permits valued at $3 million
2011: 24 permits valued at $3.28 million
2010: 33 permits valued at $4.88 million
2009: 14 permits valued at $2.04 million
2008: 61 permits valued at $10.81 million

January numbers give local realtors and property owners opportunism about the market in the year ahead.

Link to article.

This article appeared on Infotel.ca on October 24th, 2014 and was written by Jennifer Stahn.

KAMLOOPS – Requests to build more than 90 housing units were before council this week as developers look to move forward on projects around the city.

Projects for the industrial area of McGill Road, on Tranquille Road in Brocklehurst, downtown Battle Street and Qu’Appelle Boulevard in Juniper Ridge were all up for discussion Tuesday.

Council agreed to send the McGill Road project, which includes 14 residential apartment units situated in a commercial and industrial complex across from the new Telus Data Centre, and a 20-unit duplex development on Tranquille Road close to the airport to public hearing.

“This is our first development of this nature in our city,” Development Director Marvin Kwiatkowski says of the McGill complex, adding it would be different than the caretaker units that already exist in some industrial areas.

An 18-unit rental complex for 801 Battle St. got another look following an appeal by the developers earlier this month. Council agreed at the time to send it back to a public hearing, set for November, and Tuesday council got a preview of the new plans.

A 40-unit complex set for Juniper Ridge was also before council as the developers looked for a development permit, a necessary step before the project can move forward.

At the end of August the number of multi-family building permits so far this year were significantly below 2013 with only 125. In 2013 a total of 312 multi-family units were issued building permits.

Venture Kamloops recently released this video about Kamloops and all it has to offer those who call Kamloops home. This short four minute video is a great snapshot of our city.

About Venture Kamloops:

As the economic development arm of the City, Venture Kamloops’ focus is just that, economic development. The team works to provide the most up-to-date information to those interested in starting their business in Kamloops or expanding operations into the city.

Venture Kamloops’ mission is to create economic growth to establish the city as the premiere location for business development. This is done by featuring the city’s resources and offering comprehensive information plus a full spectrum of support services to investors and entrepreneurs.

For more information about Venture Kamloops click here. You can also access their 2013 annual report through this link.

 

This article appeared in the Kamloops Daily News on August 15th, 2013.

Kamloops is like the tortoise in the fabled race against the hare.

Slow but steady, the city has been growing with a relatively stable economy and moderate increases in population, unlike some communities that have experienced the rushing boom and then sluggish bust of others.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. market analyst Paul Fabri said Thursday housing starts for the first half of 2013 in Kamloops have been close to those of the previous year.

In 2012, 317 homes were started between January and the end of July, while this year, that number is at 330.

“Kamloops overall has fared better in terms of new construction than some communities with resort housing or second homes,” such as parts of the Okanagan, he said.

Kamloops has also had stronger employment growth than some other centres, Fabri added.

He suggested single-family home construction hasn’t been as strong as multi-family because the market is competitive these days. He described the Kamloops economy as relatively stable, which has kept housing construction on an even keel.

“Overall, housing starts will reach my forecast for this year, which was 500 housing starts. That’s just slightly more than last year,” he said.

For 2014, Fabri predicts housing starts in Kamloops will reach 525 units.

On the other hand, Kelowna’s housing starts have dipped in the last few years, after taking a big drop during the 2008/2009 recession years. That’s because of a reduced demand for resort housing during that period, Fabri said.

“Kelowna hasn’t seen as robust employment growth as Kamloops has. That factor has helped maintain stable housing activity,” he said.

“On the resale side, prices have been pretty stable in Kamloops for the last year or two,” he said.