Contents 10 sections
A building permit value is the estimated cost of the construction work, written down when the permit is issued. It leaves out the land. In Vancouver, the City bases the permit fee on it. We checked 780 new houses from 2017 to 2021. BC Assessment now values the house alone at 1.57 times its permit value. But build prices rose about 60% over the same years. Adjust for that, and the two match: 0.98 times. Permit values aren’t low. They’re old.
What we found
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1.57×
Assessed value of new Vancouver houses against their permit value, on the 2026 roll: 780 houses permitted 2017 to 2021. Median permit value $806,000, median assessed building $1,280,000.
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0.98×
The same ratio after construction price growth from each permit’s date to July 2025. Permit values and finished value roughly match.
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1.26×
Assessed value of new Vancouver duplexes (both halves) against their permit value, 94 duplexes. 0.82 times after price growth.
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×1.56
Price change since a 2019 Vancouver house permit, by Statistics Canada’s construction price index. A 2023 permit needs ×1.09.
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1 in 2
Vancouver houses assessed above their price-adjusted permit value. The middle half sit between 0.84 and 1.21 times.
- As reported
- After construction price growth
T-City analysis of City of Vancouver open data: 780 new houses and 94 duplexes permitted 2017 to 2021, built by 2024, matched by address to the 2026 roll (July 1, 2025). Prices: Statistics Canada building construction price index, Vancouver, single-detached houses and townhouses, from the permit’s quarter to July 2025. The line marks 1.0, where the two values match
What is a building permit value?
It’s the estimated value of the construction work. The City of Vancouver records it as the “estimated construction value at time of original permit issuance.” The base permit fee is worked out from it. Statistics Canada collects the same “value of the work” from cities across Canada for its monthly building permit numbers.
- It includes the building work: labour, materials and the builder’s costs
- It leaves out the land, which is most of the cost of a Vancouver home
- It’s fixed on the day the permit is issued. It isn’t updated as the job goes on
Is the permit value what the house really cost?
Close, once you account for time. A house permitted in 2019 was built in 2020 and 2021, and assessed in 2025. Build prices in Vancouver rose about 55% between 2019 and mid-2025. Most of the gap between the two numbers is that price growth, not a low estimate.
There is a spread. Half the houses sit within about 20% of their price-adjusted permit value. Duplexes came in lower than their permits after adjusting, at 0.82 times. BC Assessment splits a strata duplex’s value between land and building in its own way, so that number is less certain.
How to bring an old permit value up to date
Multiply it by the change in build prices since the permit year. Here are the factors for new houses in Vancouver:
- Before the 2021–22 price jump
T-City calculation from Statistics Canada table 18-10-0289-01, building construction price index, single-detached house, Vancouver (2023 = 100). July 2026 = 109.0
Example: a 2019 permit valued at $800,000 is about $1,250,000 in July 2026 build prices. The jump came in 2021 and 2022. Since then, prices have barely moved: 0.6% in the year to July 2026.
What this means for citing permit data
If you use permit values to say what homes cost, or how much building is going on, two cautions help:
- Say what year’s dollars you mean. A 2018 permit value is in 2018 prices
- Don’t compare old permit values with today’s quotes without adjusting for build prices
- Remember the land. A permit value isn’t what a new home costs to buy. See what a new house costs to build in Vancouver
Do building permits increase property taxes?
Not the permit itself. In BC, your assessment goes up when the new building is there. BC Assessment values each property as of July 1, but records its condition as of October 31. So a house that is half-built on October 31 shows up half-built on the next roll, and finished the year after.
How we checked
We used the City of Vancouver’s open data: every issued building permit to October 2, 2026, and the property tax report.
New houses: permits issued 2017 to 2021 for a single detached house, matched by address to one lot on the 2026 roll, built between the permit year and 2024. We left out lots with a laneway house permit, since its value would be mixed in. Duplexes: permits matched to a two-home strata plan at the same address, with both halves added up.
Build prices: Statistics Canada’s construction price index for new single-detached houses (townhouses for duplexes) in Vancouver, from each permit’s quarter to July 2025, the 2026 roll’s value date.
- An assessment isn’t a cost. BC Assessment estimates what the building is worth, not what was spent
- We adjusted from the permit date, though building happens later. That leans toward counting more of the gap as price growth
- Our earlier figure was 1.65 times on a broader match of 1,374 houses from 2018 to 2020. This stricter match gives 1.60 for the same years
What it means if you’re pricing a build
- Use today’s numbers, not old permits. Our house and duplex cost guides use 2025 and 2026 permits
- Ask what a quote leaves out: design, fees, servicing and the land aren’t in a permit value
- Get a lot-specific budget. A lot feasibility study prices your lot before you design
Sources
Every outside figure traces to one of these pages, all opened on November 6, 2026. T-City’s own analysis uses the City of Vancouver open datasets. Rates and fee schedules change, so we recheck them for your lot during feasibility.
- City of Vancouver Open Data: Issued building permits
- City of Vancouver Open Data: Property tax report (2020 to 2026 rolls)
- Statistics Canada: Building Permits Survey, description and methods
- Statistics Canada: Building construction price indexes, table 18-10-0289-01
- BC Assessment: Valuation date and physical condition date
