Canadian municipalities issued $7.8ย billion worth of building permits in April, downย -4.6% from March, said Statistics Canada June 6. Declines were reported in every component except commercial buildings.
In the residential sector, the value of permits issued by municipalities fellย 4.3% to $5.1ย billion in April. Five provinces posted declines led by British Columbia.
In the multi-family dwelling component, municipalities issued $2.7ย billion worth of building permits in April, downย 5.2% from March. Four provinces contributed to the drop, with British Columbia and Alberta recording the largest decreases.
In a release June 1, StatsCan detailed that investment in residential construction increased byย 8.0% to $30.5ย billion in 1Qย 2018ย compared with the same quarter inย 2017.
Month-to-month change in value of residential building permits, April 2018
Canada Building Permits, Construction Investment
Statistics Canada reported Wednesday the value of single-family permits fellย -3.3% to $2.3ย billion in April, a fourth consecutive monthly decline. Eight provinces registered declines, led by Ontario and British Columbia. Conversely, Alberta recorded the largest gain, up $46ย million from March.
Municipalities approved the construction ofย 19,372ย new dwellings in April, upย +3.6% from the previous month. The rise was mainly attributable to multi-family dwellings, upย 5.0% toย 14,189ย new units. Single-family dwellings edged downย 0.2% toย 5,183ย new units.
The value of non-residential building permits fellย -5.2% to $2.8ย billion in April, following aย +1.7% increase in March. The value of non-residential building permits declined in four provinces, led by British Columbia and Ontario. Meanwhile, three of the four Atlantic provinces reported higher building permit values.
The value of industrial permits fellย -22.6% in April to $510ย million..
Investment in residential construction, meanwhile, increased byย +8.0% to $30.5ย billion in 1Qย 2018ย compared with the same quarter inย 2017, said Statistics Canada June 1.
All components, with the exception of mobile homes, contributed to the quarterly year-over-year increase in spending on residential construction. The growth was led by spending on apartment buildings, which accounted forย 39.5% of the total increase (+$890.8ย million or +21.5%), followed by investment in renovations (+$677.9ย million or +5.5%).