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August building permits report

NEWS HIGHLIGHT

August building permits report
Municipalities issued building permits worth $ 5.9 billion in
August, down 10.4 per cent from July and the second consecutive monthly decline.
The value of permits fell in both the residential and non-residential sectors,
mainly in Ontario.

Oct. 12, 2011 – Municipalities issued building permits worth $5.9 billion in
August, down 10.4 per cent from July and the second consecutive monthly decline.
The value of permits fell in both the residential and non-residential sectors,
mainly in Ontario.

Declines in the value of permits in Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Nova
Scotia more than offset increases in the six other provinces.

In the non-residential sector, the value of permits fell 16.6 per cent to $2.3 billion,
a second consecutive monthly decrease. The largest declines were in Ontario
and Saskatchewan.

In the residential sector, the value of permits decreased six per cent to $3.6 billion
after three consecutive monthly increases. The largest declines occurred in
Ontario and Quebec, particularly in construction intentions for multiple-family
dwelling permits in Ontario.

In the commercial component, municipalities issued permits worth $1.3 billion
in August, 20.6 per cent less than the previous month. Permit values declined
the most for office buildings, hotels and restaurants as well as recreational
buildings. Commercial construction intentions fell in every province.

In the institutional component, the value of permits decreased 17.1 per cent
to $629 million, following three monthly increases. The decline
was mainly the result of lower construction intentions for educational facilities
in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Quebec.

In the industrial component, the value of permits rose 1.8 per cent to $371 million,
following a 40.6 per cent decline the previous month. Alberta led the gains with
higher construction intentions in utilities and transportation as well as
in manufacturing. These were offset by declines in the same building categories
in Ontario.

The value of building permits for multiple-family dwellings decreased 8.9 per cent
to $1.4 billion in August. Intentions were down in five provinces,
led by Ontario and Quebec. The largest increase was in British Columbia.

Construction intentions for single-family dwellings declined 4.1 per cent
to $2.2 billion in August, after two monthly gains. The largest
declines occurred in Alberta and Quebec.

Nationally, municipalities approved 15,903 new dwellings, down 10 per cent
from July. The number of multiple-family dwellings fell 13.9 per cent to 9,098 units,
while the number of single-family dwellings declined 4.4 per cent to 6,805 units.

In August, the total value of building permits decreased in four provinces.

The largest declines were in Ontario and Quebec, as permits for multiple-family
dwellings were down in both provinces. In addition, construction intentions
in the institutional component were down in Ontario, while commercial construction
intentions declined in Quebec.

The largest gains occurred in Alberta, British Columbia and New Brunswick.
In Alberta, construction intentions increased the most in the industrial and
institutional components. Higher construction intentions for multiple-family
dwellings led the increases in British Columbia and New Brunswick.

The total value of permits decreased in 19 of the 34 census
metropolitan areas in August.

The largest decline occurred in Toronto, led by decreases in the institutional
component and multiple-family dwellings. In Montreal, declines occurred
in the residential sector and the commercial component, while in Edmonton,
construction intentions decreased for single-family dwellings and in the commercial
component.

The largest increases were in Calgary, Quebec and Oshawa. In Calgary,
the advance was primarily attributable to multiple-family dwellings and commercial
permits. In Quebec, the gain originated from higher intentions in the
non-residential sector. In Oshawa, the increase was a result of higher commercial
construction intentions.

Related links

Statistics Canada