Economic Growth Changing Okanagan Landscape

Urban planner says if you think there has been change to this point, you haven’t seen anything yet

Kelowna will be the economic hub behind a changing approach to land use across the Okanagan over the next 20 years, according to a leading B.C. development project planner.  He said technology, real estate prices and how the millennial generation is adapting to those lifestyle changes are impacting the direction of future real estate development.

As of 2017, millennials are the single largest income group in North America, and by 2030 are expected to outnumber baby boomers by 22 million.  The typical lifestyle habits of millennials include being connected to the social media world, desire for economic independence, greater value on leisure/recreation time, preferring a high density lifestyle and less likely to own a vehicle needs to be considered in urban planning and development.

One of the big changes is the increase in real estate multi-residential unit developments. The philosophy of baby boomers was to own a house or property but with real estate prices on the rise this is not possible for most young families.  Moving forward, you will see more families living in multi-tenant buildings, living in smaller spaces where that space is better utilized, and having common areas in the building for other lifestyle uses.