Home construction so far this year is double what it was for the first nine months of 2009 and is pushing the annual building tally beyond predictions.

In fact, the City’s latest building numbers put total construction value for this year at the $154-million mark — almost what was predicted right to the end of 2010.

“I think it’s just that 2009 was the valley. We’re returning more to normal,” said Brian Hayashi, first vice-president of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association Central Interior.

The City’s figures show permits were issued for 530 housing units between January and the end of September this year, compared with 248 during the same period last year.

Total house construction is at $107 million for the year to date, compared with $56 million a year ago.

Even commercial construction is ahead of the game, at $40 million compared with $32 million for the first nine months of 2009.

The total of $154 million is more than 50 per cent higher than the $95 million figure reached in 2009 at this point.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. numbers released Friday showed a similar trend, with 484 single and multi family units on the books between January and September of this year, compared with 329 a year ago.

That goes against the national trend, which was downward in September.

Hayashi said Friday he was just talking to the manager of a construction equipment rental company who has everything rented out.

Construction in Kamloops reached a record in 2008, surpassing the $200-million mark.

“I think we’re down from the boom years, but not a whole pile. We’re doing OK,” Hayashi said.

“We’ve been remarkably fortunate this recession, because we’ve been hard hit in previous ones.”

He speculated that the community has more diverse businesses than it did when the recession in the 1980s hit.

“Maybe we have diversified a little bit because of that. I would point to the growth at TRU as being a huge stabilizer. But it would be nice to see some more industry coming in.”

Dick Pemberton, president of the Kamloops Real Estate Association, said new home construction is fairly consistent throughout the city.

“We see some optimism among builders and developers, although the economy has generally been slow to recover,” he said.

“All the economists are saying we’re going to see a slow recovery through 2010. We’re seeing that through our real estate sales. And the economists are projecting increased activity and increased optimism in the economy as we proceed through 2011.”

It’s a buyer’s market right now, with interest rates low and lots of homes to choose from, he said. Adding to that is the fact there’s been some confusion over the much-publicized HST — some people think it applies to all new houses, which it doesn’t. It’s only on new homes costing more than $525,000, he said.

“We’re feeling that perception in the marketplace right now,” he said.

But Pemberton did think the construction figures reflect optimism in the community.

“Last year, we were in a recession. Developers, builders and investors were being a little cautious. It’s encouraging to see they’re more optimistic.”

myoung@kamloopsnews.ca