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July 18, 2024BUILDING CONSTRUCTION, MAY 2024 Monthly (May 2024 vs April 2024, seasonally adjusted)
Investment in Nova Scotia building construction declined 2.2% in May 2024 to $568.3 million. Halifax monthly building construction fell 4.3% to $302.4 million and outside of Halifax building construction was up 0.3% to $265.9 million. Nationally, investment in building construction increased 0.8% with gains in 5 of 10 provinces. The largest gain was in New Brunswick. Prince Edward Island reported the largest decline.
Nova Scotia's May 2024 residential construction investment fell 3.4% to $469.7 million. Halifax residential construction was down 6.3% to $245.5 million. Outside of Halifax residential construction was up 0.1% to $224.2 million. National residential construction was up 0.9% with gains in 4 of 10 provinces. Québec had the largest increase while Newfoundland and Labrador had the largest decline.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building construction grew 4.0% to $98.6 million. In Halifax, non-residential construction was up 5.9% to $56.9 million. Outside of Halifax, non-residential construction was up 1.5% to $41.7 million. National non-residential building construction increased 0.6% in May 2024 with gains in 8 provinces (with negligible gains in Alberta), led by Newfoundland and Labrador. Québec and Manitoba reported declines in non-residential building construction.
Year-to-date (January-May 2024 vs January-May 2023)
Compared to January-May 2023, building construction investment was up 20.6% in Nova Scotia. Halifax construction activity was up 29.9% and outside of Halifax construction activity was up 11.6%. National building construction investment was up 5.1%, with gains in 8 provinces, led by Prince Edward Island. Newfoundland and Labrador and Ontario reported declines.
Residential construction investment was up 17.5% in Nova Scotia compared to January-May 2023. Halifax's residential construction was up 31.8% and outside of Halifax residential construction was up 5.2%. National residential construction was up 4.7% with gains in 8 provinces, led by Prince Edward Island. Newfoundland and Labrador and Ontario reported declines.
Nova Scotia's non-residential construction was up 37.7% compared to January-May 2023. Halifax's non-residential construction rose 22.6% while outside of Halifax, non-residential construction was up 65.4%. National non-residential construction investment increased 6.0% compared to January-May 2023. Seven provinces reported increases, with the largest increase in Nova Scotia. The only declines were reported in Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, and Québec.
Nova Scotia's total building construction investment increased from $2.23 billion in January-May 2023 to $2.69 billion in January-May 2024. Residential investment as well as non-residential investment were up across the province.
Residential construction investment was up for Halifax on higher single and multiple dwelling units. Outside of Halifax, lower investment in single dwelling buildings was offset by higher investment for multiples.
Non-residential building construction investment was up in all categories of non-residential construction across the province: commercial, industrial, and institutional/government.
Trends
Building construction has trended up over recent years, particularly from rising residential investment. Residential investment (and therefore total investment) exhibits peaks and troughs around a rising trend. Non-residential investment has been on a more gradual increasing trend, primarily from investments in Halifax.
In Halifax, residential construction investment was trending up for both single and multi-unit dwellings until mid 2022 when both started to decline. However, in recent months, single unit construction has shown limited growth while multiple unit construction has been rising. Outside the city, growth in single dwelling unit construction is stronger than in multi-unit structures.
Non-residential building construction has lower values than residential construction. Halifax commercial building construction had been on increasing trend since the end of 2021 and reached at its peak in 2023. Commercial construction has declined in recent months. Industrial and government/institutional construction have been increasing in Halifax. In recent months, there has been growth in commercial, industrial, and government/institutional building construction outside the city.
Statistics Canada. Table 34-10-0286-01 Investment in building construction
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