Total Durham building permits were down in value by 3.1 per cent last year, but still at a substantial $2.88 billion, according to an updated Annual Building Review published by the Regional Municipality.
Building permits are under pressure from provincial Bill 23 (Build More Homes Faster Act of 2022), and may lead to shortfalls in coming years (see below). A senior Scugog township official echoed Durham municipalities’ view when he described Bill 23 as 2023’s most significant challenge.
The regional report said staff are continuing to monitor the impact of market-based shifts and inflationary pressures on building activity over the course of 2023.
The fall in the overall value was due to the 12.6 per cent decline in non-residential permits at $716.59 million. It was large enough to counter the 0.5 per cent increase to $2.17 billion in total residential permits issued last year. Permits issued for new residential units rose 3.8 per cent to 6,530.
Oshawa tops building activity
Building permits issued last year put Oshawa as the top construction activity spot in Durham, followed by the Town of Whitby.
The 2022 rankings are:
- City of Oshawa – $902.33 million
- Town of Whitby – $719.83 million
- City of Pickering – $471.05 million
- Municipality of Clarington – $309.25 million
- Town of Ajax – 308.05 million
- Township of Uxbridge – $91.65 million
- Township of Brock – $49.32 million, and
- Township of Scugog – $35.18 million.
The report said, in context of the above, the Planning and Economic Development Department conducts ongoing monitoring activities to assess the effectiveness of the Durham Regional Official Plan and other Regional policies.
It said building activity is also an indicator of regional housing and employment activity, the level of local investment, and economic performance.
