The City of Surrey set a record for construction activity, including net new housing units, in 2024, according to new annual figures released from its finance department.
The city permitted 6,297 new homes and $2.8 billion in construction activity, much of it in the residential sector.
This surpasses the city’s previous record of about $2.3 billion of construction value and 5,932 housing units delivered in 2019.
In a Tuesday press release, Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke touted the achievement as a result of improved processing of paperwork at city hall.
“Despite high interest rates, labour challenges and soft pre-sales, a record-breaking $2.8 billion in construction activity occurred in Surrey in 2024. I am proud of the work council has done in streamlining our land development and permitting approvals. Council’s commitment in providing more housing will carry into 2025, as we continue to look for improvements and efficiencies in our approval process,” said Locke.
Locke credited the $95 million federal Housing Accelerator Fund for contributing to over 2,560 housing units, including 180 below-market rental units.
Last year the city also launched a pilot program for excavation building permits, allowing permits to be issued ahead of final adoption of rezoning and development permit issuance.
But missing from Locke’s press release is the fact the city saw an extraordinary surge in permits being issued ahead of the April 27, 2024 expiry of protection for in-stream projects against approved Metro Vancouver development cost charge (DCC) increases.
The finance department notes in its 2024 quarterly reports that the deadline “drove the increased volume of permits issued by the city in quarter one of this year.”
Construction value surged to about $1 billion in the first quarter of 2024 as compared to about $175 million in 2023.
In 2023 the city approved about $1.8 billion in construction value.
By the end of the third quarter in 2024 the city had already reached about $2.6 billion.
The fourth quarter of 2024 only resulted in about $200 million in permits, about the same as 2023.
The finance department stated that “the phenomenon of developers advancing their development schedules in response to negative financial consequences related to upcoming legislative changes is not unprecedented.”
Indeed, developers are now faced with passing on significantly more costs to new home buyers, because of .
By Jan. 1, 2027 DCC rates for the average townhouse unit in Surrey will increase to $31,375, from $11,086 in 2024 over a three-step progression.
The new taxes were , who claimed they will lead to greater housing unaffordability.
taxes forward in October 2023 to pay for new infrastructure, which would otherwise need alternative funding, including from income taxes or existing property owners.
