Municipalities issued $7.0 billion worth of building permits in April, up 10.5% from March and 5.4% higher than in April 2012.
Fine provinces reported a growth in permits over a year ago led by New Brunswick (+83.4%) British Columbia (+13.4%), and Alberta (+10.0%). Double-digit annualized decreases over April 2012 occurred in three provinces. Prince Edward Island suffered the largest loss (-51.4%) followed by Manitoba (-24.9%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (-23.1%). Quebec experienced a 9.1% decline while Ontario gained 9.9%.
Builders took out residential building permits worth $4.4 billion in April, up 21.0% from March and 13.5% higher than in April 2012. Five provinces reported an annualized growth rate for residential permits led by British Columbia (+39.0%), Manitoba (+27.8%) and Ontario (+20.2%). Double-digit annualized decreases occurred in three provinces. The largest losses took place in Prince Edward Island (-31.7%), New Brunswick (-30.7%) and Nova Scotia (-15.8%). Quebec’s annualized decline for residential permits was 7.7%.
Municipalities issued permits worth $2.1 billion for multi-family dwellings in April, up 51.9% from March and 40.4% higher than in April 2012. The growth from March to April, was the second consecutive month-over-month gain and followed seven monthly decreases in the preceding eight months. The gain was the result of higher construction intentions for apartments and condominiums in eight provinces, led by Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec. Alberta and Nova Scotia posted decreases. Permits for single-family units increased 1.1% from March to $2.2 billion but were down 4.4% over April 2012. The increase from March was the third gain in the past four months. Growth in British Columbia, Quebec and Ontario more than offset declines in the other seven provinces. Alberta has the largest drop, followed by Nova Scotia.
Municipalities approved 19,377 new dwellings in April, up 33.0% from March and 16.9% higher than in April 2012. There was a 0.6% monthly decrease and a 10.1% annualized loss in the number of single-family units, which totaled 6,209. There was a 58.3% monthly gain and a 36.2% annualized increase in the number of multi-family units approved, which totaled 13,168.
The value of non-residential permits in April lost 3.6% from March to $2.6 billion and decreased 5.9% from April 2012. From March to April, industrial permits declined 5.3% to $450 million; institutional permits fell 27.2% to $715 million; and commercial sector permits were up 15.8% to $1.4 billion.