Wednesday, December 6, 2006

Building permits

The value of building permits surged to their second highest level on record in October, thanks to huge gains in construction intentions for multi-family dwellings and commercial buildings.

Intentions surpassed the $6-billion mark for only the second time, in the wake of a new record high for the value of non-residential permits.

In total, municipalities issued just over $6.0 billion in building permits, up 6.1% from September. This level was second only to the $6.3 billion worth of permits municipalities issued in December 2005.

Note to readers Unless otherwise stated, this release presents seasonally adjusted data, which ease comparisons by removing the effects of seasonal variations. The Building Permits Survey covers 2,380 municipalities representing 95% of the population. It provides an early indication of building activity. The communities representing the other 5% of the population are very small, and their levels of building activity have little impact on the total. The value of planned construction activities shown in this release excludes engineering projects (e.g., waterworks, sewers or culverts) and land. For the purpose of this release, the census metropolitan area of Ottawa–Gatineau is divided into two areas: Ottawa–Gatineau (Quebec part) and Ottawa–Gatineau (Ontario part).

These results point to a busy winter on building sites as building permits are a leading indicator for construction activity.

The value of non-residential permits increased 9.1% to a record $2.4 billion in October, the third consecutive monthly gain. This level was 5.7% higher than the previous peak reached in August 2005. The gain was due largely to a surge in the value of commercial permits in Alberta and British Columbia.

Construction intentions in the residential sector totalled $3.6 billion, up 4.3% from September and the third gain in the last four months. It was due solely to a jump in the value of multi-family permits. The value of single-family permits declined.

Provincially, contractors in Quebec took out a record high $1.2 billion in the total value of permits, with gains in both sectors. In addition, Alberta still showed strong results, as the total value of permits remained virtually unchanged from the record high posted in September.

The largest gains (in dollars) occurred in British Columbia and Quebec. In British Columbia, the gain came from a surge in commercial permits, leading the overall value to over $1.1 billion, just 1.8% below the record set in March 2006.

On a year-to-date basis, the cumulative value for the first 10 months of 2006 reached $54.7 billion, up 10.3% from the same period in 2005. Gains in both residential (+9.6%) and non-residential (+11.5%) sectors contributed to the overall growth.

Residential sector: Jump in multi-family permits

The value of multi-family permits increased 15.4% to $1.4 billion in October, the second highest level on record and the third gain in the last four months.

On the other hand, municipalities issued $2.2 billion worth of single-family permits, down 1.7% from September.

Among the provinces, eight showed increases in their value of housing permits in October. The largest gain (in dollars) was recorded in Quebec (+19.7% to $774 million), due to a jump in the value of multi-family permits.

Ontario came a distant second (+2.6% to $1.2 billion), also fuelled by a strong gain in the multi-family component.

Since the beginning of the year, municipal authorities have approved 196,030 new dwelling units, 2.3% higher than the total for the first 10 months of 2005.

The number of multi-family units, which represented just under half (48.7%) of all units approved, increased 3.7%, while the number of single-family units rose 1.1%.

These numbers were boosted by the exceptional performance in Alberta. Without Alberta, the number of units approved at the national level would have declined 2.7%.

The demand for housing continued to be positively affected by the dynamic economy of Western Canada, the strong full-time employment level, the high level of immigration and the advantageous mortgage rates.

Non-residential: Strong gains in commercial intentions

In the non-residential sector, building permits surpassed the $2-billion threshold for the sixth time in 10 months this year.

The value of non-residential permits has been on an upward trend since the end of 2005.

Construction intentions in the commercial sector surged a spectacular 35.6% to $1.5 billion, after falling 8.0% in September. This was a new monthly record, thanks to strong gains in the value of building permits in the hotel and restaurant category and for office and recreational buildings. This component has been on upward trend since October 2005.

In the institutional component, the value of building permits fell 22.8% to $504 million in October, following a 25.9% gain the month before. This was largely the result of lower construction intentions for government administrative, medical and nursing home buildings. The value of permits for these types of buildings was high in September.

Six provinces and three territories showed losses in the institutional sector. In contrast, the largest gain (in dollars) occurred in British Columbia. Despite the decline, the value of institutional permits has been on an upward trend since April 2006.

Industrial intentions declined 13.9% in October to $353 million, a second consecutive monthly decrease. This was mainly the result of a drop in the value of permits for manufacturing plants in Ontario.

In contrast, Quebec recorded the biggest increase (in dollars) to reach the highest level for this component since June 2005.

Despite the monthly decrease, the value of industrial permits has been on an upward trend since January 2006.

Several economic factors were consistent with a fertile environment for the non-residential sector, including growth in consumer spending and declining vacancy rates for office buildings. In addition, corporate operating profits hit a record high in the third quarter of 2006.

In contrast, manufacturers are anticipating tougher times ahead, with decreased production and employment in the coming months, according to Statistics Canada's latest Business Conditions Survey.

Provincially, the biggest gain occurred in British Columbia, where non-residential permits more than doubled (+124.1%) to $531 million.

In contrast, the largest decline (in dollars) in the non-residential sector occurred in Ontario, where a huge drop in the industrial component more than offset gains in both commercial and institutional sectors.

At the national level, the cumulative value of non-residential permits was up 11.5% from the first 10 months of 2005. All three components (commercial, industrial and institutional) increased.

Metropolitan areas: Records tumble in Western Canada

Among the metropolitan areas, Calgary posted by far the largest gain (in dollars) for the first 10 months of 2006 compared with the same period last year. On a year-to-date basis, building permits in Calgary have increased 44.8% to $4.5 billion.

With two months in the year to account for, the cumulative value for Calgary is already 14.5% higher than the annual record set last year, thanks to strong results in both residential and non-residential sectors.

Edmonton posted the second largest gain in permits in dollars, followed closely by Vancouver. Edmonton and Saskatoon have also set annual records already. In both cases, the value of permits so far this year is slightly above their previous annual high reached in 2005.

Double-digits gains were recorded in the eight metropolitan areas west of Ontario.

The cumulative value of building permits declined in only 7 out of the 28 metropolitan areas. Ottawa and Hamilton showed the largest retreats in dollars.

Available on CANSIM: tables 026-0001 to 026-0008, 026-0010 and 026-0015.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 2802.

The October 2006 issue of Building Permits (64-001-XWE, free) will be available soon.

The November 2006 building permit estimate will be released on January 10, 2007.

To order data, contact Jasmine Gaudreault (613-951-6321 or toll-free 1-800-579-8533; bdp_information@statcan.ca). For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Étienne Saint-Pierre (613-951-2025), Investment and Capital Stock Division.

Value of building permits, by census metropolitan area1
	September 2006r	October 2006p	September to October 2006	January to October 2005	January to October 2006	January–October 2005 to January–October 2006
	Seasonally adjusted
	$ millions		% change	$ millions		% change
St. John's	22.2	23.2	4.3	298.6	286.3	-4.1
Halifax	51.1	74.8	46.4	502.0	548.5	9.3
Saint John	17.3	12.9	-25.3	125.1	151.8	21.4
Saguenay	10.5	17.9	70.4	146.0	162.1	11.0
Québec	104.4	105.6	1.1	1,002.7	989.8	-1.3
Sherbrooke	26.3	49.9	89.9	206.3	266.4	29.1
Trois-Rivières	18.8	26.9	43.3	161.1	218.5	35.6
Montréal	505.5	611.4	20.9	5,001.2	5,034.5	0.7
Ottawa–Gatineau, Ontario/Quebec	166.0	206.2	24.3	1,929.9	1,862.7	-3.5
Ottawa–Gatineau (Que. part)	43.4	65.3	50.5	350.6	438.0	24.9
Ottawa–Gatineau (Ont. part)	122.6	141.0	15.0	1,579.3	1,424.7	-9.8
Kingston	10.8	9.0	-16.0	162.6	199.7	22.9
Oshawa	82.5	55.7	-32.4	786.6	742.7	-5.6
Toronto	987.9	1,022.4	3.5	8,713.8	9,060.5	4.0
Hamilton	109.8	83.3	-24.1	959.8	780.8	-18.7
St. Catharines–Niagara	39.0	26.6	-31.8	435.3	443.7	1.9
Kitchener	49.3	72.0	46.1	738.2	762.5	3.3
London	59.9	66.3	10.7	695.6	758.8	9.1
Windsor	76.2	23.3	-69.4	451.5	449.3	-0.5
Greater Sudbury / Grand Sudbury	21.2	30.5	44.2	159.7	197.5	23.7
Thunder Bay	5.2	14.9	186.8	109.6	80.3	-26.7
Winnipeg	88.8	51.8	-41.7	549.5	732.9	33.4
Regina	59.7	40.7	-31.8	203.2	318.4	56.7
Saskatoon	35.9	33.6	-6.2	302.8	367.1	21.3
Calgary	634.0	500.3	-21.1	3,101.5	4,489.9	44.8
Edmonton	356.1	355.6	-0.1	2,376.8	2,919.0	22.8
Abbotsford	29.3	21.0	-28.2	262.7	299.6	14.0
Vancouver	504.8	624.5	23.7	4,665.1	5,180.1	11.0
Victoria	40.9	113.7	178.2	621.2	683.9	10.1
r revised p preliminary 1. Go online to view the census subdivisions that comprise the census metropolitan areas. Note: Data may not add to totals as a result of rounding.

Value of building permits, by province and territory
	September 2006r	October 2006p	September to October 2006	January to October 2005	January to October 2006	January–October 2005 to January–October 2006
	Seasonally adjusted
	$ millions		% change	$ millions		% change
Canada	5,678.1	6,026.7	6.1	49,564.9	54,660.9	10.3
Residential	3,472.7	3,620.4	4.3	31,155.1	34,139.5	9.6
Non-residential	2,205.3	2,406.3	9.1	18,409.9	20,521.3	11.5
Newfoundland and Labrador	40.8	37.9	-7.1	428.5	423.2	-1.2
Residential	21.2	27.8	31.2	279.0	282.7	1.3
Non-residential	19.6	10.1	-48.6	149.5	140.5	-6.0
Prince Edward Island	13.1	24.9	90.5	205.6	183.9	-10.6
Residential	10.0	13.2	32.7	101.2	109.7	8.4
Non-residential	3.1	11.7	276.1	104.4	74.3	-28.9
Nova Scotia	95.5	127.4	33.4	994.0	1,073.5	8.0
Residential	67.4	90.1	33.7	640.2	724.8	13.2
Non-residential	28.2	37.3	32.5	353.8	348.7	-1.4
New Brunswick	66.4	71.5	7.7	712.2	766.9	7.7
Residential	35.2	45.8	30.3	401.0	432.7	7.9
Non-residential	31.3	25.7	-17.8	311.2	334.2	7.4
Quebec	995.3	1,191.1	19.7	9,549.4	9,902.7	3.7
Residential	646.2	773.6	19.7	6,691.2	6,487.3	-3.0
Non-residential	349.1	417.5	19.6	2,858.2	3,415.4	19.5
Ontario	1,955.6	1,920.5	-1.8	19,421.1	19,301.0	-0.6
Residential	1,173.3	1,204.1	2.6	11,691.0	11,941.9	2.1
Non-residential	782.3	716.4	-8.4	7,730.1	7,359.1	-4.8
Manitoba	130.0	91.8	-29.3	908.7	1,141.6	25.6
Residential	66.5	64.9	-2.3	541.4	682.5	26.1
Non-residential	63.5	26.9	-57.6	367.2	459.1	25.0
Saskatchewan	132.3	94.7	-28.4	712.0	967.7	35.9
Residential	50.0	53.0	6.0	312.0	394.7	26.5
Non-residential	82.3	41.7	-49.4	399.9	573.0	43.3
Alberta	1,335.7	1,333.1	-0.2	8,203.7	11,357.3	38.4
Residential	738.7	748.1	1.3	4,834.1	6,901.0	42.8
Non-residential	597.0	585.0	-2.0	3,369.6	4,456.2	32.2
British Columbia	893.6	1,126.2	26.0	8,297.2	9,375.6	13.0
Residential	656.7	595.2	-9.4	5,587.6	6,112.6	9.4
Non-residential	236.9	531.0	124.1	2,709.6	3,263.0	20.4
Yukon	11.3	3.7	-67.5	53.7	88.9	65.6
Residential	3.9	2.1	-47.2	38.7	32.7	-15.6
Non-residential	7.4	1.6	-78.3	15.0	56.2	275.7
Northwest Territories	7.1	2.6	-63.5	66.7	35.3	-47.1
Residential	2.4	1.1	-55.1	27.5	16.5	-39.9
Non-residential	4.7	1.5	-67.9	39.2	18.7	-52.3
Nunavut	1.3	1.2	-1.2	12.3	43.4	253.0
Residential	1.3	1.2	-0.4	10.0	20.4	103.5
Non-residential	0.0	0.0	-100.0	2.3	23.0	919.4
r revised p preliminary Note: Data may not add to totals as a result of rounding.

---

Send this article to another person
E-mail to:
Your name:
Your e-mail: