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New president for The Canadian Home Builders’ Association Central Okanagan

Cassidy deVeer has been named president and is the first woman to step into the role
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Cassidy deVeer, president of 3rd Generation Homes and CHBA-CO photo: contributed

The Canadian Home Builders’ Association Central Okanagan announced today that Cassidy deVeer is its new president. DeVeer is president of 3rd Generation Homes, a family-run residential and commercial construction company that specializes in custom homes.

“I am proud to represent such an outstanding board, executive and members,” says deVeer.“It is an honour to be selected to work for the residential construction industry in the Central Okanagan. With pressures on the residential construction industry from all levels of government, our role to advocate for our members has never been more important.”

DeVeer’s appointment comes as the residential construction industry in the Okanagan faces challenges from new federal mortgage regulations, a provincial speculation tax and potential changes to the local building code. Each of these factors is adding pressure to housing affordability.

“I’m okay with where the market is right now. We have seen unprecedented growth over the past few years, and now we are seeing a bit of a pullback,” said deVeer. “Moving forward, we need to continue to work closely with all levels of government and our members to maintain where the market is now”

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The CHBA-CO is part of the Scrap the Speculation Tax campaign along with a coalition of British Columbians including the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce, UDI Okanagan, Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board and many others. The campaign has been working with industry members, government officials and media to drive awareness of the potential market effect of the tax.

The construction industry in the Okanagan provides more than 25,310 jobs and is looking to grow year on year by 0.4 per cent according to the 2018 B.C. Labour Market Outlook report. Construction sits in the top three industries in the region, which is home to 11 per cent of all B.C. residents or one in 10 workers.

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“We will continue to promote industry best practices and initiatives like Get it in Writing and Clean BC initiatives that promote using certified contractors and provide incentives for energy-efficient renovations,” said deVeer. “Raising awareness of certification helps protect consumers and should lead to consumers automatically asking if their contractor is a CHBA member.”

Government relations and advocacy are top on the new president’s agenda. “Our goal is to advocate for policies that are good for the residential construction industry, consumers and government,” said deVeer.

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