Municipalities issued $6.2 billion worth of building permits in November, down 17.9% from October but 0.2% higher than in November 2011.
Double-digit annualized increases over November occurred in five provinces, down from seven provinces with this status in October. Manitoba led the way with a 59.8% growth rate, followed by Alberta (+26.3%) and Prince Edward Island (+25.3%). Quebec posted an 11.8% gain, while Ontario experienced a 13.0% decline. The largest loss occurred in New Brunswick (-21.0%) followed by Saskatchewan (-19.6%).
Builders took out residential building permits worth $3.8 billion in November, down 6.8% from October and 1.9% lower than in November 2011. Double-digit annualized increases occurred in five provinces, down from six provinces in October, led by Prince Edward Island (+82.2%), Manitoba (+71.8%) and Alberta (+26.3%). Quebec’s annualized growth rate for residential permits was 11.2%. Ontario (-20.4%), Nova Scotia (-19.8%), and New Brunswick (-18.8%) experienced the most negative growth.
Municipalities issued permits worth $1.5 billion for multi-family dwellings in November, down 10.8% from October but 2.4% higher than in November 2011. The decline from October to November was the fifth consecutive monthly decrease. The loss was mainly attributable to lower construction intentions in Ontario. Permits for single-family units decreased 4.0% from October to $2.2 billion and were down 4.7% over October 2011. This was the fourth monthly decline in the past five months. The downturn was again mostly attributable to lower construction intentions in Ontario.
Municipalities approved 16,627 new dwellings in November, down 9.6% from October and 1.2% lower than in November 2011. There was a 2.7% monthly decrease and a 6.3% annualized loss in the number of single-family units, which totaled 6,638. There was a 13.7% monthly loss but a 2.5% annualized increase in the number of multi-family units approved, which totaled 9,989.
The value of non-residential permits in November fell 30.6% from October to $2.4 billion but increased 3.7% from November 2011. From October to November, industrial permits lost 60.7% to $427 million; institutional permits fell 49.1% to $515 million; and commercial sector permits were up 5.9% to $1.5 billion.