Municipalities issued $7.2 billion worth of building permits in October, up 7.4% from September and 6.2% lower than in October 2012.
Two provinces reported an increase in permits over a year ago. Double-digit gains were recorded in Alberta (+23.6%) and Saskatchewan (+14.0%). Double-digit annualized decreases over October 2012 occurred in seven provinces. Nova Scotia suffered the largest loss (-43.5%) followed by Manitoba (-30.2%) and Prince Edward Island (-27.1%). Ontario registered an annualized loss of 13.6% while Quebec recorded an 18.3% decrease.
Builders took out residential building permits worth $4.4 billion in October, up 6.4% from September and 9.2% higher than in October 2012. Six provinces reported an annualized growth rate for residential permits: Alberta (+37.2), British Columbia (+14.5%) and Manitoba (+11.2%) led the way. Double-digit annualized decreases occurred in two provinces: Prince Edward Island (-42.3%) and Nova Scotia (-40.3%). Quebec’s annualized gain for residential permits was 2.9% while Ontario’s was 3.1%.
Municipalities issued permits worth $2.0 billion for multi-family dwellings in October, up 8.4% from September and 18.3% higher than in October 2012. October’s gain came from higher construction intentions in four provinces, with Quebec and Ontario contributing most to the gain. Permits for single-family units increased 4.7% from September to $2.4 billion and were up 2.4% over October 2012. The monthly gain came from higher construction intentions posted in five provinces, notably Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta.
Municipalities approved 18,823 new dwellings in October, up 6.9% from September and 3.9% higher than in October 2012. There was a 2.1% monthly decrease and a 5.6% annualized loss in the number of single-family units, which totaled 6,358. There was a 12.2% monthly gain and a 9.5% annualized increase in the number of multi-family units approved, which totaled 12,465.
The value of non-residential permits in October grew 9.0% from September to $2.8 billion but decreased 23.3% from October 2012. From September to October, industrial permits grew 0.5% to $495 million but were down 58.3% from October 2012; institutional permits dropped 15.2% from September to $516 million and were down 49.1% from a year earlier; and commercial sector permits gained 22.0% from September to $1.8 billion, up 23.8% from October 2012.