iN NUMBERS: Kamloops housing starts catching up to Kelowna

Home builders in Kelowna have been complaining that housing construction is slowing down in the city, and now the numbers show that Kamloops is starting to catch up.

Kelowna’s housing starts, particularly single-detached homes, have been slower this year so far while the province as a whole has seen more housing projects break ground including in Kamloops.

We’ll have to wait and see whether this is just a blip, or the start of a longer-term trend.

Here are the numbers from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation for the first quarter of 2026:

• 28: Per cent. That’s the year-to-date increase in housing starts in B.C. for 2026 compared to 2025.
• 22: Per cent. That’s the year-to-date decrease in single-detached housing starts in Kelowna for 2026 compared to 2025.
• 39: That’s how many single-detached housing starts there were in Kelowna for the first quarter of this year, down from 50 last year.
• 36: That’s how many single-detached housing starts there were in Kamloops for the first quarter of 2026, up from 33 last year.
• 78: Per cent fewer housing projects started in Kelowna in March 2026 compared to March 2025.
• 12: Per cent more housing projects started in Kamloops in March 2026 compared to March 2025.
• 6: That’s how many single-detached housing starts there were in Kamloops in March in 2026.
• 288: That’s how many single-detached housing starts there were in B.C. in March 2026.
• 52,000: Dollars. That’s the typical development cost charge collected by the city for a single family home in Kelowna.