Municipalities issued $7.0 billion worth of building permits in January, up 8.5% from December and 21.9% higher than in January 2013.
Seven provinces reported an increase in permits over a year ago. Double-digit gains were recorded in all seven. Alberta led the way (+49.2%) followed by Newfoundland and Labrador (22.7%0 and Ontario (+21.6%). Double-digit annualized decreases over
January 2013 occurred in New Brunswick (-37.6%) followed by Nova Scotia (-32.3%).
Quebec recorded a 13.6% annualized increase.
Builders took out residential building permits worth $4.6 billion in January, up 26.3% from December and 22.2% higher than in January 2013. Four provinces reported an annualized growth rate for residential permits: Alberta (+54.2%) and Quebec (+25.98%) led the way. Double-digit annualized decreases occurred in the other six provinces. The largest lose was recorded in Nova Scotia (-42.1%) followed by Prince Edward Island (-28.2%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (-16.3%). Ontario’s annualized gain for residential permits was 18.4%.
Municipalities issued permits worth $2.1 billion for multi-family dwellings in January, up 42.8% from December and 38.1% higher than in January 2013. Advances were posted in nine provinces with Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia leading the way. Saskatchewan was the only province to register a decrease. Permits for single-family units increased 15.0% from December to $2.5 billion and were up 11.5% over January, 2013. The monthly gain came from higher construction intentions posted in seven provinces, chiefly in in Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia.
Municipalities approved 18,366 new dwellings in January, up 17.4% from December and 14.9% higher than in January 2013. There was an 11.8% monthly increase and a 5.3% annualized gain in the number of single-family units, which totaled 6,786. There was a 20.9% monthly growth and a 21.3% annualized increase in the number of multi-family units approved, which totaled 11,580.
The value of non-residential permits in January fell 14.6% from December to $2.4 billion but increased 21.3% from January 2013. From December to January, industrial permits fell 24.7% to $373 million but were up 23.7% from January 2013; institutional permits declined 41.8% from December to $574 million and were up 67.3% from a year earlier; and commercial sector permits grew 9.7% from December to $1.4 billion, up 8.9% from January 2013.