The Mayor of Ritchot says new housing starts might be way down this year, but construction as a whole is still thriving in his municipality.
From January 1st through June 30th of this year, there were 122 building permits taken out worth $34.4 million. Compare that with the same period last year when there were 130 permits pulled for a combined $33.6 million.
"We're very happy with the numbers," says Chris Ewen. "We didn't think it would get to these strong numbers and they are here, and they look like they are going to continue for the rest of the year."
New housing starts are a fraction of what was felt in 2022. Through the first six months this year, there were 14 for a combined $7.7 million. Last year during that same period there were 47 residential permits worth $20.7 million.
"The slowdown is not surprising," adds Ewen. "Having said that we're still seeing things happen."
Ewen says most of the new homes are still being built in Grande Pointe, followed close behind by St. Adolphe. He notes Grande Pointe is still appealing because of its close proximity to Winnipeg.
He notes there may not be as many single-family homes being built this year in his municipality, but there are still lots of pools going in, decks being added and renovations going on.
Though new housing starts are down in 2023, Ritchot has been able to still post a strong year for construction thanks to an increase in permits for commercial, decks and shed/ accessory buildings. This year has seen 16 commercial permits compared to eight in 2022, it has seen 28 deck permits compared to 20 in 2022 and there have been nine permits for shed/ accessory buildings compared to four last year.
As far as commercial is concerned, Ewen says this construction is happening across the municipality.
Meanwhile, Ewen says what is so encouraging by the numbers is that based on the type of construction going on in Ritchot, you can tell that these are residents that are there for the long haul.
"When I see people doing renovations or doing overhauls of their yard, landscape, deck work, building pools, these are people that are setting their family roots into Ritchot and they are here for a very long time," says the Mayor.
And, Ewen says it is this investment into Ritchot that will make this an even better municipality to be a part of.