BC Provincial Budget hinders Development.

BC NDP really messed up the 2026 budget, according to Mark Goodman of the Goodman Report comments.

We're facing a clear slowdown in development and housing – numbers don't lie.

Instead of helping, the province added more costs for development land and building homes. It feels totally out of touch. With a $13.3B deficit already, they layered on:

Higher Additional School Tax on development properties (up to 0.3% for $3–4M and 0.6% above $4M in 2027), hiking holding costs on stalled sites;

PST now on professional services like engineering and architecture – key for housing projects – boosting soft costs that hurt feasibility; and

Speculation and Vacancy Tax to 4% for foreign/non-resident owners (2027), bad timing.

None helps building. It all worsens a tough spot.

Government cites CMHC starts above average, but that's old projects – not today's reality for developers, lenders, and cities.

Pre-sales have tanked. Unsold condos are at multi-year highs, no quick recovery in sight.

Rentals propped things up via federal help, but Vancouver's vacancy is ~3.7% (decades-high), immigration slowed, supply arriving, rents softening.

Municipal planning sees fewer applications and thinner pipelines – they see the drop coming. Hard to ignore everywhere except provincially, where the budget raised building costs in a downturn.

Missing: a real plan for economic growth.

Housing needs confidence, rising incomes, and eager investors. Without strong growth push (GDP ~1.3% in 2026, trade/immigration worries), sentiment stays weak, capital sits out.

Money moves on. If the province doesn't grasp this cycle's depth and act, investment heads elsewhere.

Alberta will welcome the developers with open arms.