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February 11, 2025BUILDING PERMITS, DECEMBER AND ANNUAL 2024 Monthly (seasonally adjusted, December 2024 vs November 2024)
Changes in monthly building permit values are typically very volatile, with large swings from one month to the next.
Nova Scotia's total building permits (residential and non-residential) rose 12.8% to $282.7 million. Halifax permits grew 24.7% to $192.7 million while permits outside the city fell 6.2% to $90.0 million. National permits rose 11.0% to $13.15 billion. Total building permit values were up in five provinces, led by British Columbia. Prince Edward Island reported the largest monthly decline in building permit values.
Nova Scotia's residential building permits grew 27.9% to $230.7 million. Halifax residential permits increased 48.4% to $170.4 million. Outside the city, residential permit values dropped 7.9% to $60.3 million. National residential building permit values rose 21.2% to $8.97 billion. Residential permit values were up in seven of ten provinces, led by British Columbia. Prince Edward Island reported the steepest decline in residential permit values.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permits fell 26.0% to $52.0 million. Halifax permits dropped 43.9% to $22.3 million. Outside the city, non-residential permit values declined 2.7% to $29.7 million. National non-residential building permit values declined 5.9% to $4.18 billion. Non-residential permit values were down in seven of ten provinces, led by Prince Edward Island. New Brunswick, Ontario, and Alberta reported gains in non-residential permit values.
Annual (2024 vs 2023)
Nova Scotia's total building permits (residential and non-residential) were up 11.2% in 2024 comparing with 2023. Halifax permits increased 17.9% and outside the city permit values increased 1.7%. National permits were up 6.6%. Building permit values were up in every province except British Columbia, with Prince Edward Island reporting the fastest increase.
In 2024, Nova Scotia's residential building permits increased 20.0% compared to 2023. Halifax residential permits increased 27.2% and outside the city residential permit values increased 9.6%. National residential building permit values increased 8.8%. Residential permit values were up in all provinces except British Columbia, with Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador reporting the fastest increases.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permits decreased 6.9% in 2024 (compared with 2023). Halifax permits dropped 1.9% while non-residential permits outside the city fell 13.5%. National non-residential building permit values rose 3.0%. Non-residential permit values were up in six provinces, led by Prince Edward Island. Quebec reported the largest decline.
Rising residential permit values boosted overall building permit values in Nova Scotia in 2024 (compared with 2023). Non-residential permit values were down across the province.
There were increases in permit values for single dwelling units in Halifax and a slight decline in the rest of the province. Multiple unit permits rose across the province.
Non-residential permit values were down in commercial projects across the province. Institutional and government building permits were slightly up in Halifax and down outside the city. Industrial permits fell in Halifax and rose in the rest of the province.
Trends
Overall building permit values have generally been on a rising trend for several years, though there have been periods of declining values over this period. Rising permit values are mostly driven by higher residential permits within Halifax as well as outside the city.
After trending down in late 2022 and early 2023, residential permit values rose again in Halifax in the middle of 2023 and early 2024. Halifax residential permit values have started to decline in the middle of 2024.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permit values started to rise in early 2023 before reaching a plateau through the end of the year. Non-residential permit values reached a plateau in Halifax in the middle of 2024 and started to decline in the second half of 2024 while flat in the rest of Nova Scotia, resulting in a declining trend.
Trends in residential permit values reflect the differences in housing markets for Halifax and the rest of the province. In Halifax, growth in permit values for multi-unit dwellings has outpaced growth in single-dwelling unit permits. Outside the city the situation is reversed, where single dwelling unit permits are more common than permits for multi-unit structures. Residential permits have been trending down due to the decline among singles as well as multiples in Halifax.
Non-residential building permits have lower values than residential permits. In Halifax, after reaching a plateau non-residential permits started to decline at the end of 2024. Commercial projects and institutional/governmental projects are declining in recent months. After rising in early 2023, Halifax values for industrial building permits subsequently declined and have grown at a slower pace in recent months. Outside the city, permits have reached the peak and there is a decline in commercial and institutional/government permits.
Source: Statistics Canada. Table 34-10-0285-01 Building permits, by type of structure and type of work (x 1,000)
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