Following a 13.9 per cent decrease in May, the value of building permits issued across Canada climbed 14.8 per cent to $7.7 billion in June thanks in large part to apartment and condo construction, according to the latest data from Statistics Canada.
May to June, construction intentions in the residential sector climbed 15.9 per cent to $4.6 billion following a 13.2 per cent decline the previous month. Month-over-month gains were posted in nine provinces, led by Quebec, Alberta and Ontario. British Columbia, however, registered a slight decrease.
For the non-residential sector, the value of permits rose 13.2 per cent to $3.2 billion. Gains were posted in five provinces, led by Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario. Manitoba, Quebec and Saskatchewan registered the largest declines following large increases in May.
Construction intentions for multi-family dwellings soar
After two consecutive monthly declines, construction intentions for multi-family dwellings rose 36.9 per cent to $2.2 billion month-over-month in June. Higher construction intentions for apartment and condo projects in Quebec, Alberta and Ontario contributed most to the gain at the national level. British Columbia had a small decline following a 17.4 per cent increase the previous month.
The value of building permits for single-family homes, meanwhile, rose 1.6 per cent to $2.4 billion in June. Increases were posted in eight provinces, with New Brunswick, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario recording the largest gains. Alberta registered a second consecutive monthly decrease in the value of permits for single-family dwellings.
Canadian municipalities approved the construction of 17,609 new homes in June, up 13.7 per cent from May. This increase was mostly attributable to multi-family dwellings, which rose 20.3 per cent to 11,785 units. The number of single-family dwellings increased 2.2 per cent to 5,824 units.
The total value of building permits — both residential and non-residential — was up in 24 of the 34 census metropolitan areas in June, with Calgary, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver posting the largest increases.
In Calgary, Stats Can says the increase resulted mostly from higher construction intentions for institutional buildings and multi-family homes. In Montreal, the advance came mainly from multiple-family dwellings and industrial buildings, while in Toronto, multi-family dwellings and institutional buildings largely fueled the increase. In Vancouver, higher construction intentions for commercial projects and multi-family dwellings accounted for most of the gain in June.
Conversely, Hamilton and Regina registered the largest declines. In Hamilton, the decline originated mainly from lower construction intentions for institutional buildings. In Regina, which had a strong gain the previous month, the decline came from all three non-residential components.
