Why Your Renovation Quote Came Back Higher This Year

You’ve seen the tariff headlines. What no one’s connecting for you is why your renovation quote came back higher than you expected, or why that promising new build down the street still hasn’t broken ground. These feel like separate frustrations. They’re not. They’re the same story, and it’s unfolding right here in the Okanagan.

The Canada-US trade war isn’t just a news segment playing in the background. It’s showing up in the real cost of building and renovating, and most people are feeling it without knowing what’s behind it. So let me break down the two ways it’s landing, and what each one means for you.

1. Tariffs and counter-tariffs hit the materials in nearly every project. The steel, the aluminum, and the glass are the inputs that go into almost everything you’d build or renovate, and they’re exactly where the pressure has concentrated.

Statistics Canada reports that building construction costs have climbed close to 3% year-over-year, with the sharpest increases in precisely the tariff-hit materials: structural steel and metal fabrications.

The data ties those increases directly to the retaliatory tariffs. So when your contractor’s quote comes in higher than you expected, a real part of that gap is the materials themselves, not padding.

And here’s what I’m seeing on the ground, renovating homes in real time: that reported figure is on the low end. We’re watching renovations run 10, even 15% more year-over-year. What’s telling is that it isn’t the labour.

We’re actually finding trades and subtrades willing to work for the same or less than last year, because the market’s gotten more competitive on that side. This is materials, plain and simple.

2. When materials cost more, and the outlook is uncertain, builds don’t break ground. This is the second piece, and it’s the one most people miss entirely. Developers get cautious when costs climb, and the future looks murky. Projects that penciled out last year suddenly don’t, and they stall. It’s part of a broader slowdown. Deloitte is projecting just 0.7% economic growth for Canada this year, one of the weakest years we’ve seen outside of an actual recession, with the first half of the year already showing contraction.

Fewer buildings today mean a tighter supply down the road. And in a market like ours, tighter supply eventually works its way into prices.

So here’s what you can take from all of it. If you’re renovating, get your quotes in early and lock in your material prices, because those numbers are moving. If you’re buying or selling, understand that this slowdown in new construction is quietly shaping our supply-and-demand dynamics, and that timing is what matters most.

None of this makes the Okanagan a worse place to invest in or own. It just means the smart moves right now are the informed ones. If you’re trying to make sense of how all of this lands on your specific plans this year, that’s exactly what I track, so you don’t get caught off guard.

Reach out, and let’s map out your next move with the full picture in front of you. Call or text me at 778-721-5541, email me at info@vantagewestrealty.com, or visit vantagewestrealty.com.