Residential building permits down 12% in ’22, says MPAC
The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) says that the number of residential building permits issued across Ontario dropped for the first time in three years in 2022, returning to pre-pandemic levels.
After reaching all-time highs during the pandemic, permits for new developments and home improvements fell by just shy of 12% – to 108,080. This ended a trend of year-over-year increases and brough permit totals back to 2020 levels.
"People across Ontario were spending most, if not all, of their time at home during the pandemic and many decided it was an ideal time to take out building permits to update their homes," said MPAC vice-president and COO Carmelo Lipsi. "Now that COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, people are starting to gravitate back to experiences and travel. Coupled with the fact that the cost of borrowing has increased with higher interest rates, we're seeing fewer permits issued, signaling a shift in priorities."
MPAC’s data finds that residential home-improvement permits dropped by more than nine percent in Ontario – to more than 63,000. These permits were for renovations, additions, swimming pools, sheds, garages and decks. Despite a decrease from the previous year, permits are still up by 22 percent over 2019 levels, when just under 51,600 permits were issued.
Toronto led the province with the most overall residential permits issued (9,359), representing almost no change from 2021 (9,478). Kitchener, Mississauga, Guelph and Oshawa saw increases in the number of permits from the previous year (2,478, 2,041, 1,416 and 1,370, respectfully).
Ontario municipalities issued 63,047 permits for residential home improvement in 2022. That figure represents a drop of just over 9% from 2021. Toronto again topped the list – with 6,803 permits – but reported 3% fewer than in 2021. Brampton was second with 5,485 permits (down 25.7% from the previous year); Ottawa was third (down 16%).
For residential renovations/additions, permits dropped by almost 3.5% to 37,068. MPAC says that figure is 28% than 2019 levels, and nearly 16% above 2020 levels.
Permits for pools were down substantially from pandemic highs, with the number of swimming pool permits dropping by almost 27%. Ottawa remains Ontario’s pool capital, despite experiencing a nearly 43% decrease from the previous year.
Residential shed permits are also down, dropping to 3,409 permits in 2022— almost a 20% decline from 2021. Ottawa issued 122 shed permits – an increase of 14% over the year prior.
Permits for garages decreased with 6,014 issued across the province in 2022 (more than a 9% decrease) compared to the 6,579 issued in 2021. Toronto had the most, with 330 permits (an increase of about 41%). Only two other municipalities experienced an increase in garage permits last year: Sault Ste Marie with 104 permits (an increase of almost 12%) and the Township of Muskoka Lakes with 81 permits (an increase of more than 12%).
Finally, residential deck permits decreased to 8,257, down about 13% from 2021. Hamilton continued to lead in this category with 572 deck permits issued in 2022 (a decrease of more than 35% from 2021).
MPAC receives notification of these building permits from municipalities, initiating a review of the changes to a property.