Municipalities issued $6.1 billion worth of building permits in February, down 0.9% from January and 5.0% lower than in February 2014.
Three provinces reported an increase in permits over a year ago. The largest year-over-year gain was recorded in Nova Scotia (+83.4%) followed by Manitoba (+17.9%) and British Columbia (+15.9%). The largest annualized losses occurred in Prince Edward Island (-61.1%) and New Brunswick (-23.7%). Ontario recorded an 11.6% annualized decline, while Quebec’s loss was 3.3%.
Builders took out residential building permits worth $4.1 billion in February, up 1.5% from January and 7.5% higher than in February 2014. Five provinces reported an annualized growth rate for residential permits: Nova Scotia led the way (+107.1%) followed by British Columbia (+45.3%). Double-digit annualized decreases occurred in four provinces. The largest losses were recorded in Prince Edward Island (-57.4%), followed by New Brunswick (-12.5%. Quebec’s annualized increase was 5.7%, while Ontario recorded a year-over-year loss of 1.8%.
Municipalities issued permits worth $1.8 billion for multi-family dwellings in February, up 20.7% from January and 10.7% higher than in February 2014. Month-over-month gains occurred in nine provinces, with Ontario registering the only drop. Quebec posted the largest increase, followed by British Columbia and Nova Scotia. Permits for single-family units amounted to $2.3 billion, down 9.6% from January, but 5.2% higher than in February 2014. Monthly decreases were posted in every province except Nova Scotia. Quebec, Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario accounted for most of the decline.
Municipalities approved 15,133 new dwellings in February, up 2.7% from January and 4.5% higher than in February 2014. There was a 6.6% monthly decrease and a 0.6% annualized loss in the number of single-family units, which totaled 5,808. There was a 9.4% monthly gain and an 8.0% annualized increase in the number of multi-family units approved, which totaled 9,325.
The value of non-residential permits in February fell 5.4% from January to $2.0 billion and decreased 23.4% from February 2014. From January to February, industrial permits grew 19.2% to $399 million and were up 8.1% from February 2014; institutional permits decreased 20.5% from January to $377 million and were down 47.8% from a year earlier; while commercial sector permits fell 6.2% from January to $1.2 billion, and were down 19.4% from February 2014. The institutional loss came mainly from decreased construction intentions in five provinces, with Quebec accounting for most of the monthly decrease. The value of commercial permits decreased in three provinces, notably in Quebec. Ontario posted the largest gain. The industrial decrease mainly resulted from higher construction intentions for and transportation-related buildings and primary industry facilities in Ontario. Losses were recorded in seven provinces, and were worst in British Columbia and Alberta.