Ottawa's New Plan for New Homes, and What It Means for Kelowna

Market Intelligence · November 2026

Ottawa's new plan for new homes,

and what it means for Kelowna

the short version: plan early, look calmly

Ottawa's fall budget landed last week, and one line in it matters to anyone watching new homes here in Kelowna. The federal government wants to keep its ban on foreign buyers for existing homes for two more years, and at the same time open the door for those buyers on brand new homes. Here is what was announced, what has not changed yet, and why I think it is worth your attention if a new home is anywhere in your plans.

Book a time to talk it through

What Ottawa announced

Budget 2026, tabled on November 5, proposes extending the ban on foreign purchases of existing residential properties to January 1, 2029, while exempting new residential properties. Ottawa's own reasoning is that this keeps the vast majority of the market available for Canadians, while unlocking additional investment in new housing supply. The budget also puts $45 billion toward housing measures over the next ten years, including another $13 billion for Build Canada Homes, the Crown corporation building non-market homes.

I spend a lot of my working life around new construction in this valley, and I understand the thinking. When new homes sit unsold, projects slow down, and fewer homes get built after them. A wider pool of buyers for new homes helps good projects keep moving, and that keeps homes coming for everyone.

What has not changed yet

Two things worth knowing before the headlines run away with this. First, it is a proposal, not a law. The government still has to bring in legislation and write the rules, and the budget does not yet define what counts as a new home, whether that means a pre-sale, a home nobody has lived in, or something else. Second, nothing changes for resale homes. Existing homes stay inside the ban under the proposal, and BC's own taxes for foreign buyers are a separate layer that this budget does not touch.

So if you are a Canadian buyer, and nearly everyone reading this is, your world does not change today. But the direction is set now, and if a move is somewhere in your next year or two, that is worth planning around.

Why it matters here

Kelowna has real choice in new homes right now. October's numbers from the Association of Interior REALTORS® show 2,734 homes available across the Central Okanagan, with 290 sales in the month.

October 2026, Central Okanagan board numbers

My October market update has the full board numbers, and the feeling underneath them is time. Condos took about 76 days to move in October. Buyers have room to look properly, compare, and decide well.

Reporting out of BC this month adds a useful detail. The new homes sitting in standing inventory across the province skew family sized, not tiny shoebox units. I see the same thing here. Much of what is available is real homes for real life, two and three bedrooms, in buildings and neighbourhoods people actually want to live in. If the federal exemption becomes law, those are the homes it will reach first, and a little more momentum there is good for the whole market, resale included, because a healthy new home sector keeps the whole ladder moving.

The rate picture softened a little, too

The Bank of Canada raised its policy rate to 2.50 percent on October 28, its first increase since 2023, and I wrote about that one last week. Since then, the jobs numbers have cooled the story down. Statistics Canada reported that Canada lost 4,700 jobs in October, a third straight month of losses, and unemployment rose to 6.7 percent. Within a day of that release, the odds the markets were putting on another hike in January eased from 96 percent to 77 percent.

The next decision is December 9. Nothing about that calls for a rush. It does make a good case for having your financing conversation early, so a December headline never gets to make your decisions for you.

If a new home is on your mind

There is already real money on the table for Canadians buying new. First time buyers can get the GST on a new home back, up to $50,000, under a rebate that is already law. And BC's newly built home exemption takes the property transfer tax off a new home up to $1,100,000. Add a market where buyers have time and choice, and a possible new wave of demand arriving once Ottawa's rules are written, and the shape of good advice is simple: look early, while the looking is calm.

Thinking about a newer build in town? I keep a current eye on Water Street by the Park beside City Park, and on what builders across the valley are offering right now.

My take

Most Kelowna buyers don't have a budget problem. They have a preparation problem.

Policy changes like this one reward the people who are ready before the rules land: financing understood, neighbourhoods walked, a short list already built. That is the work I love doing with people, and it is much more fun in November than in a scramble later.

Let's talk it through

Curious what a new home could look like for you, or what October's numbers mean for the home you already have? I am happy to walk through your specific numbers and your specific neighbourhood, whenever it suits you.

Book a time with me

Or just reply to this week's newsletter and tell me what you are wondering about. And if you are thinking about a move to the Okanagan from somewhere else, my free Okanagan Relocation Guide is a good first read. Still choosing who to work with? Here is how I would choose a Realtor in Kelowna.

Best Regards,

Tarynn

Tarynn Liv Parker, REALTOR® · Sutton Centre Realty, Kelowna · Helping people find their life in the Okanagan since 2006

This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Budget measures are proposals until legislation passes. Board statistics: Association of Interior REALTORS®, October 2026.