åespite Western Starô announcement that itô leaving and the economy being sluggish, low interest rates drew buyers out, said Okanagan market analyst Paul Fabri of Canada Mortgage & Housing Corp.
Ñow vacancy rates also triggered more rental-housing starts in 2001.ÿ/p>
Just-released CMHC figures show construction started on 1,103 homes of all kinds (single-family, townhouses, condominiums and rental apartments) in 2001 compared with 929 starts the year before.
xhis certainly is an improvement, Fabri said.
„t isn a return to the old boom days of the early 1990s, but it is strong, considering the state of the economy.ÿ/p>
One of the projects to give the figures a boost is the $50 million Discovery Bay development in downtownô north end beside the Dolphins and Lagoons highrises.
Pre-sales at Discovery Bay went so well the developer decided to start construction on all 236 units in the six-storey-tall buildings instead of phasing them in.
The development appeals to retirees and empty nesters who don rely as much on the general economy and jobs as a regular worker would in making a home-buying decision.
ielownaô large and growing retiree and seniors population has also remained a big source of housing demand and a steadying influence on the market, explained Fabri.
Single-family home construction accounted for more than half of all building activity, with 625 starts in 2001.
Dingle starts began to edge back up after dropping for three straight years, Fabri said. xhe Kelowna economy and population have continued to grow despite job losses in some sectors.ÿ/p>
However, new house demand is expected to level out through the first half of this year and overall, 2002 probably won be able to top 2001, says Fabri.
„t won be a bad market, but with Western Star actually shutting down in September, the softwood uncertainty, civil service cuts and not as many subsidized housing projects going ahead, the indications just aren there, Fabri said.
