Photo: Contributed
The Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission’s quarterly report of indicators is usually full of nothing but positive news.
That is no longer the case due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Regional District of Central Okanagan’s labour force, building permit values, airport passengers, median new home price and job postings are all down when compared to last year.
Building permit values are down a whopping 35.8% from last year at this time, when the value of building permits approached $1 billion. So far this year nearly $613 million in building permits have been issued.
As has been reported on several occasions this year, the number of passengers that have travelled through Kelowna International Airport is down 60% compared to last year. Traffic is starting to increase, however, as the September passenger count was down 71.5% compared to April’s 96.3%.
The other significant decline is in job postings, which are down 26% but up 33.6% from peak-pandemic times.
The new median home price is down 2% to $877,500 but average rent has increased 9% over 2019.
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