Quispamsis Sets Several Development Records

It seems last spring’s pandemic lockdown had many residents in Quispamsis itching to build.

The town recorded historical high levels of total permits issued, construction permit fee value and the total assessed value of new construction.

It also surpassed 10-year historical averages for essentially every measured category in its annual summary.

“We defied what was the pandemic expectations for 2020,” Gary Losier, the town’s director of engineering and works, told councillors this week.

“When we were in the lockdown in early 2020, we didn’t know what was going to happen for the rest of the summer. I can tell you, looking back, what happened was everybody decided to build something in Quispamsis.”

Losier said the town recorded 76 single-family housing starts and five two-family dwellings in the past year.

The town has not seen numbers that high since back in 2010, he said.

“We had trended the last three years to be in the 40 to 50 range, and getting to 76 was significant,” Losier said of the single-family starts.

Losier said the four strongest months, from August through November, occurred even after the industry experienced supply shortages, delivery delays and a significant increase in lumber costs.

Overall, the town issued a record 436 individual permits for projects of all shapes and sizes.

This not only includes residential dwelling permits, but also multi-residential, commercial, additions or renovations, and accessory structures such as sheds, pools and fences.

“Anecdotally, what we were told and what our inspection staff was told was that if people and residents couldn’t get out, couldn’t do certain things, they were gonna make improvements to their homes,” said Losier, “and they did that in droves.”

The town’s construction permit fee value also hit a record high — just over $199,000, compared to the 10-year average of $133,000 — along with the total value of new construction.

Losier said the increase should help boost the town’s tax base assessment over the coming years.

“Things like sheds and fences and decks don’t contribute significantly to our tax base,” he said, “but multi-unit apartments, single-family residences, that’s what drives our tax base and I would expect to see a significant change in our numbers for 2021 into 2022.”