New housing off to ‘great start’ in Vernon this year

Aug 16, 2023 | 5:00 AM

The City of Vernon continued to see housing development climb in the second quarter.

John Perrott, Manager of Economic Development & Tourism, presented Council with the Second Quarter Development and Real Estate report, which stated 92 new residential units were approved for construction between April 1 and June 30 this year.

The units approved in the second quarter (Q2) bring the year-to-date total of new residential units approved for construction up to 251.

The report stated 43 per cent of the new residential units were single family homes or single family homes with suites.

It was noted the average processing time for building permits in Q2 was four weeks.

Council grants

Vernon to distribute over $50k in Council Discretionary Grants, $20K to the food bank

7h ago

Possible firearm involved

One person apprehended in connection with suspicious activity in Coldstream

Dec 13, 2025

Fatal Collision, Highway Closed

One person dead in crash near Revelstoke

Dec 13, 2025

In the quarter, development permits were valued at roughly $37.5 million, with 83 per cent of that coming from residential builds.

The quarterly value was down from the roughly $75 million recorded in Q1 of 2023, and also down slightly from the $45-million in Q2 of 2022.

However, it did bring the year-to-date total to approximately $118 million, up from the $103.7 million in the same period of 2022.

The report also outlined a significant increase in real estate sales volumes, averaging 116 transactions in Q2 compared to 61 in the first three months of the year.

The average sales price for a home in Vernon was $669,130, down nine per cent from the previous quarter.

In the report there were also updates on a few major projects planned for Vernon, all of which had to do with infill.

The presentation stated the former Legion site at 3300 31st Ave. is being redeveloped into a mixed-use site. It will incorporate commercial space on the ground floor, and 75 one-bedroom units and 20 two-bedroom units in the building. It will also have 15 units that are CMHC Accessible/Adaptable. The development permits for this property were being finalized with the building permits to be issued soon, following by ground breaking possibly in the fall.

The property at 2801 28th Street is being redeveloped into a mixed-use building. It will include office space, an onsite parking garage, and 14 residential units. Construction is expected to begin later in the year.

Progress was also being made on the planned four-storey mixed-use building at 5460 Anderson Way near the Cactus Club. That property, which is expected to be issued a development permit in the fall, will have space for eight commercial units, including a drive-thru and a 68 seat restaurant; and 16 residential units, which will be a mix of one- and two-bedroom units.

The report also stated the development of two houses to accomodate medical residents was progressing. There are two, two-bedroom units being built, each with an additional attached suite, that will house a combined six medical residents who are coming to Vernon through the Community Futures led North Okanagan medical residence project. It was noted work was underway and the homes should be ready in time for that program to start next summer.

The report was presented to Vernon council at the regular meeting Monday, August 14, where Councillor Kari Gares stated it was good to see these large projects, particularly the Legion building which she called “transformative” for the area.

However, Gares also stated she suspects the real estate figures for Q3 will look a bit different compared to those presented Monday.

“We’re probably going to be trending back downwards from sales activity just because the interest rates have jumped,” Gares explained.

“We kind of had a nice little incline [in] May and June, they were very strong comparatively to April. [But] if you look at the July stats those have tapered off.”

Gares added the last benchmark price for single-family homes recorded for the North Okanagan was $778,300 in July, as per the data from the Association of Interior Realtors.

“We typically use benchmark as opposed to average sales price because it’s a little more indicative to the real estate side, but what’s interesting with the stats is we really haven’t seen too much of a decline in property values. They have come down but no where near the degree to what we were anticipating. But sales activity has definitely slowed and I think inventory is probably going to slow a little bit until we get out of the summer months,” Gares remarked.

“So hopefully September will be a different story than that.”

The report was received for information.

Following the meeting, Mayor Victor Cumming told Vernon Matters council was pleased to see the development figures continue to climb.

“If you put first and second quarter [development values] together we’re ahead of last year, so we’re off to a great start in 2023, and given the increase in interest rates, that’s a good sign,” Cumming stated.

Vernon set a development permit value record in 2022 with a value of $202.4 million, and Cumming was not sure if that figure could be surpassed this year.

“I think we’re going to be just a little under, or in around the same area,” Cumming told Vernon Matters.

“We have some very significant multi-family projects that we may see come through, and if that happens, we’ll match last year’s [total].”

by Liam Verster

View Comments