London #2 in Ontario for residential building permits, home renovations

London, Ont. -

With Canadians spending more time in their homes over the last year-and-a-half, they’ve been investing in more home improvement projects than ever before.

The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) conducted an analysis which shows the City of London is second in Ontario in residential building permits, behind only Brampton.

The city issued 2,469 residential building permits in 2020, which is a 27 per cent increase from 2019.

“Calls per week are definitely up. They’ve probably doubled since last year,” said owner of London Renovations, Jason McGuire.

He is already booking projects for next spring, “I think because people aren’t going on vacations, they’re essentially taking those dollars to improve their home,” McGuire added.

That was the case for homeowner Rob Williamson, who had a nine-day Scandinavian cruise planed for October 2020.

When it was cancelled he was able to get a refund and invest that money in renovating the kitchen and expanding one of his bedrooms.

“Another couple of weeks and we’ll be totally done and I am excited for that,” Williamson admits.

McGuire says many homeowners are taking on big projects like this, with the majority opting to freshen up their main floors and kitchens, and overall trying to create more space.

McGuire’s one piece of advice to anyone looking to renovate their home is to make a “want vs. need” list.

It helps everyone decide what upgrades are most important and keeps homeowners on budget.