Municipalities issued $6.0 billion worth of building permits in April, up 1.1% from March but 13.4% lower than in April 2013.
Three provinces reported an increase in permits over a year ago. The largest increase was recorded in Nova Scotia (+41.6%) followed by Manitoba (+8.7%) and Saskatchewan (+1.9%). Double-digit annualized decreases over April 2013 occurred in six provinces. The largest year-over-year losses were recorded in New Brunswick (-80.2%), followed
by British Columbia (-30.6%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (-23.9%). Quebec reported a 1.5% annualized decrease while Ontario experienced an 11.3% decline.
Builders took out residential building permits worth $3.7 billion in April, up 2.0% from March but 13.8% lower than in April 2013. Two provinces reported an annualized growth rate for residential permits: Nova Scotia (+38.3%) and Alberta (+6.0%). Double-digit annualized decreases occurred in the other eight provinces. The largest lose was recorded in New Brunswick (-45.6%) followed by Newfoundland and Labrador (-34.1%) and British Columbia (-32.5%). Quebec’s annualized loss was 14.7% while the decline in Ontario was 11.5%.
Municipalities issued permits worth $1.6 billion for multi-family dwellings in April, up 1.1% from March but 25.1% lower than in April 2013. Month-over-month Increases were posted in seven provinces with the largest gains reported in Alberta, Nova Scotia and British Columbia. Permits for single-family units increased 2.8% from March
to $2.1 billion but were down 3.0% over April 2013. The monthly increase came in the wake of two consecutive monthly declines. Growth in Ontario more than offset the declines in five provinces. Alberta posted the largest decrease.
Municipalities approved 15,416 new dwellings in April, down 3.2% from March and 20.5% lower than in April 2013. There was a 2.0% monthly increase but a 7.0% annualized loss in the number of single-family units, which totaled 5,775. There was a 6.0% monthly decline and a 26.9% annualized decrease in the number of multi-family units approved, which totaled 9,641.
The value of non-residential permits in April lost 0.4% from March to $2.3 billion and decreased 12.7% from April 2013. From March to April, industrial permits gained 10.5% to $345 million but were down 16.0% from April 2013; institutional permits increased 37.2% from March to $664 million but were down 7.9% from a year earlier; while commercial sector permits fell 14.8% from March to $1.3 billion, down 14.2% from April 2013.