The Rural Municipality of Hanover is trending ahead of last year's pace when it comes to construction activity. But Planning Manager Jeremy Neufeld says they actually got off to a very slow start this year.

"January and February started off extremely slow, numbers fell below our five-year average," says Neufeld. "But then March came around and we started to pick things up, which was very encouraging to see."

In the first quarter of 2024, Hanover issued 45 building permits worth a combined $21.5 million. That is the same number of permits issued in the first quarter a year ago, however, the dollar amount is considerably higher this year. In 2023 it was only $6.9 million. Neufeld says the reason why this year's total is more than three times the amount of last year is because of the permit taken out for the school addition in Grunthal.

When it comes to residential construction, Neufeld says they issued 18 permits in the first quarter this year, totalling $5.7 million. That is considerably higher than last year when there were 12 permits taken out in the first three months, worth a combined $2.5 million. 

Similar to other recent years, Neufeld says the community leading the way in new housing starts this year is Kleefeld with six, followed by Blumenort, Grunthal, and the rural area with three each, New Bothwell with two, and Mitchell with one. 

Meanwhile, Neufeld says the slow start in January and February can probably be attributed to a few factors. He notes there is still hesitation in the market as the result of the high cost of construction and higher interest rates. However, Neufeld says there have been some positive developments such as the Bank of Canada not raising interest rates any higher and Statistics Canada reporting a slowdown in inflation.

"I think this is creating a little bit more confidence in the market," says Neufeld. "And we're hopeful that confidence is going to continue and we're going to see people continue to invest in Hanover."