National permit values fall 3% in July
The total value of building permits issued by municipalities dropped 3 percent to $7.8 billion in July. While seven provinces recorded increases, the national total was brought down by significant decreases in activity in British Columbia (-34.2 percent), Quebec (-15.1 percent) and Newfoundland and Labrador (-19 percent).
One of the more remarkable permits issued for the month was for $474 million for construction of a 2.7-million square foot Amazon distribution centre in Ottawa’s south-end Barrhaven neighbourhood. The facility is the e-retailer’s second in the National Capital Region.
The total value of residential construction permits issued for the month dropped 6.2 percent to just over $5 billion. This was largely due to a drop of more than 39 percent in residential permit values in British Columbia.
The value of single-family permits rose by 3.9 percent to $2.2 billion, while the value of permits issued for multi-family homes dropped by 12.8 percent to $2.8 billion.
Meanwhile, non-residential construction permit values varied. While the overall market for non-residential construction rose 3.3 percent to $2.7 billion, declines in the values of industrial and institutional permits offset a large increase in commercial-sector permits.
The value of industrial permits declined for the second straight month, falling 15.7 percent to $462 million, while the value of institutional permits fell 24.2 percent to $628 million.
Commercial-sector permit values rose by 29.9 percent to $1.6 billion in July—largely due to the $474-million permit issued in Ottawa.
Ontario’s construction market recorded a strong month. The overall value of permits issued rose by nearly 10 percent to $3.4 billion. The value of permits issued in the residential sector rose by $104 million. This was largely on the strength of strong demand for multi-unit housing.
The value of non-residential permits, meanwhile, rose by 21 percent. A drop in value of more than $160 million for government and institutional permits was more than offset by a slight rise in industrial permit values, and an increase of 77 percent in the value of commercial-sector permits.