Niverville has had a stong start to the construction season in the first quarter of the year.

There have been six housing starts in Niverville so far this year and a total permit value of just over $2,000,000. In the same period last year there were two housing starts and a total building permit value of just under $500,000.

Mayor Myron Dyck says part of the reason the numbers look so good is simply due to how early people pull permits. He notes they expect overall building numbers in Niverville this year to be very similar to 2015.

“In the last two years we have had significant projects that have skewed our numbers, be it the personal care home a few years ago, the initiation of a life lease last year, these have skewed the numbers up in the past. As far as the residential homes I would say that those numbers have been relatively consistent and I would expect much more of the same again this year.”

Dyck says overall building permit values have gone up quite significantly which is partly due to some custom homes being initiated.

“What we have seen is a couple of custom homes having permits pulled. When you get a significant value for a custom home you can do a couple of spec builds or one custom home and have the same value although your permits are technically twice as big.”

Dyck says they are looking forward to late spring when a few more people will get started on building projects.