FORT ST. JOHN, British Columbia, March 17, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to BC Check-Up: Invest, an annual report by the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC) on investment trends across the province, the number of housing units that began construction in Northeast B.C.’s largest municipalities increased 7.6 per cent in 2021, compared to the number started in 2020.
“Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, growing prices for residential properties in the region led to an uptick in housing starts in both 2020 and 2021,” said Ben Sander, FCPA, FCA, partner at Sander Rose Bone Grindle. “Still, housing starts remained below levels set a few years ago.”
Over the course of 2021, 113 housing units began construction in Dawson Creek and Fort St. John, up from the 105 units started in 2020 and 75 in 2019. Breaking it down by municipality, there were 104 housing starts in Fort St. John and 9 in Dawson Creek in 2021, compared to 68 and 37 in 2020, respectively.
The housing starts in the region were a mix of detached and attached units, such as townhomes, condos and apartments. In total, there were 60 detached starts in 2021, up from 52 in 2020, compared to 53 attached starts in 2021, the same as in 2020.
“While attached housing units have become increasingly common in Northeast B.C., the growth in 2021 came from detached starts, and reflects the strong demand for larger units in the region,” continued Sander. “Another area where investment activity has grown is the significant amount of major project activity in the region.”
Collectively, major projects currently proposed, under construction, or on hold were worth $45.2 billion as of Q3 2021, accounting for 11.5 per cent of all major projects across the province. This was an increase of 12.1 per cent compared to Q3 2020, primarily a result of the estimated cost of the region’s largest project, Site C, growing from $10.7 billion to $16.0 billion.
“The largest construction projects across Northeast B.C. continue to be natural resource projects,” continued Sander. “This is true for both projects currently underway, and for several major projects in the proposal stage.”
In Q3 2021, there were 11 projects worth $23.6 billion under construction across the region, including the recently started Spruce Ridge Expansion Project ($565 million). In the same period, there were 25 proposed projects, with an estimated capital cost of $14.7 billion. The five largest proposed projects all related to natural resources with an expected investment of $9.6 billion, including the Frontier NGL Plant and Pipeline ($2.5 billion), the Sundance Low Carbon Gasoline Refinery ($2.5 billion), and the North Montney Mainline ($1.7 billion).
“The considerable investment activity both in housing and major projects should boost our economic recovery, and recent commodity price increases should improve the prospects of some project proposals,” concluded Sander. “However, one continued area of concern is that many residents are not reaping the benefit of these investments. Going forward, we need to examine ways that this economic activity can be greater realized by residents of Northeast B.C.”
To learn more, see www.bccheckup.com.
________________________________________
About CPA British Columbia
The Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC) is the training, governing, and regulatory body for over 38,000 CPA members and 6,000 CPA students. CPABC carries out its primary mission to protect the public by enforcing the highest professional and ethical standards and contributing to the advancement of public policy. CPAs are recognized internationally for bringing superior financial expertise, strategic thinking, business insight, and leadership to organizations.
