Work began on a post-Great Recession record 169 new single family homes in Prince George and area during 2015, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation numbers released this week.
In 2007, a 14-year peak of 288 starts was reached before the economic meltdown struck. The previous post-recession high was 160, achieved in 2012.
"Builders generally had a good year last year," said Canadian Homebuilders Association - Northern B.C. president Jody Tindill. "And the suppliers say the same thing, that things were good."
Tindill's feeling is that about half the new home buyers are people from out of town and half are people in town who are moving up to bigger and better homes.
She also noted the total was reached despite the new building code provisions that came into place in December 2014.
Intended to make homes more energy efficient, the new standards also increased the cost of constructing a typical home by about 10 per cent.
The weak Canadian dollar also didn't help in terms of the cost of building supplies coming out of the United States, Tindill added.
She expects to see a healthy pace during the coming year.
"The builders I've been talking to over the last couple of weeks are very positive," she said. "I know one builder who is expecting to double his business."
She is also basing her forecast on what she's heard from local real estate agents.
"I was talking with a broker yesterday and even this year already, things are going really well," Tindill said.
"They had a good Christmas, stuff's turning over in a couple weeks."
Although not as strong as in 2014, the city's real estate market continued to see slow and steady growth, according to year-end numbers from B.C. Northern Real Estate Board numbers issued last week.
A more diversified economy in Prince George has been credited for the city's ability to avoid the effects of the commodities downturn that hit some other northern B.C. communities.
CMHC, meanwhile is predicting a slower but still healthy pace for the city in 2016 of about 145 starts on single-family homes, according to its most recent forecast.
However, that forecast was issued in October and CMHC senior market analyst Taylor Pardy said it could be adjusted in the coming months.
He also noted that the province's population of 25-to-44-year-olds, the prime house-buying age group, is expected to remain on a slow and steady rise.
"Given these conditions, the current forecast for Prince George is for starts to remain reasonably elevated," Pardy said.
The 2015 total represents a 27 per cent increase over the 133 starts CMHC counted for 2014. Pardy attributed the increase to "an active resale market where listings have declined relative to sales."
"This has led to new home construction to satisfy the demand for housing in Prince George."
Work on units of multiple family house rose dramatically, to 100 units over 2015 compared to just 25 units in 2014.
CMHC counts a project as a start when the foundation is laid and the totals include areas outside city limits but within the Prince George census area.
