Burnaby is having a slow start with building permits this year - down by about $63 million compared to this time last year.
The total value of building permits for February 2014 sits at about $26 million, according to a report from the planning and building department.
But this time last year, building permits totaled more than $89 million for February.
"Larger permits have yet to come in this year, and last year we had a couple of large permits," Lou Pelletier, director of planning and building, said at the March 10 council meeting. "We expect to see those coming forward in the next few reports, as well."
Pelletier said he expects the numbers to fluctuate quite a bit from period to period, depending on future permit sizes.
In 2013, Burnaby almost had a record-breaking year with permits with a total of 1,674 permits, valued at more than $674 million. By July 2013, permits already totaled more than $427 million.
The highest year for permits in Burnaby was in 2008, boasting more than $790 million in value by the end of that year.
So far for 2014, there have been 247 permits at a value of more than $57 million.
According to the Vancouver Regional Construction Association, building permits dipped across the board last December by 39 per cent. It closed out by five per cent in 2013, compared to 2012 values.
Total permit values in the Lower Mainland and southwest region in December fell to $454.8 million compared to $740.2 million in November 2013.
The association's forecast for 2014 is that building permits will come close to the 2013 level, with a chance of a small gain.
