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June 11, 2024BUILDING PERMITS, APRIL 2024 Monthly (seasonally adjusted, April 2024 vs March 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 by 44.2% to $344.3 million. Halifax permits grew by 87.2% to $244.1 million while permits outside the city decreased 7.5% to $100.2 million. National permits rose 20.5% to $12.84 billion. Building permit values were up in 7 of 10 provinces, with British Columbia reporting the largest monthly increase. Manitoba reported the steepest decline in building permit values.
Nova Scotia's residential building permits increased 41.5% to $244.5 million. Halifax residential permits grew 87.3% to $178.5 million. Outside the city, residential permit values decreased 14.9% to $65.9 million. National residential building permit values rose 21.0% to $8.04 billion. Residential permit values were up in 8 of 10 provinces, led by British Columbia. Quebec and New Brunswick reported the only declines among provinces.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permits grew 51.3% to $99.8 million. Halifax permits rose 87.1% to $65.5 million. Outside the city, non-residential permit values rose 10.8% to $34.3 million. National non-residential building permit values increased 19.6% to $4.80 billion. Non-residential permit values were up in 6 of 10 provinces, with British Columbia reporting sharp increase. Prince Edward Island reported the steepest decline.
Year-to-date (January-April 2024 vs January-April 2023)
Nova Scotia reported notably high building permit values in January, February, and April except a decline in March. Nova Scotia's total building permits (residential and non-residential) were up 35.9% in comparing the first four months of the year with the same period in 2023. Halifax permits increased 48.8% and outside the city permit values increased 19.6%. National permits were up 6.8%. Building permit values were up in 8 of 10 provinces, led by New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Manitoba and Ontario reported the declines.
In the first four months of 2024, Nova Scotia's residential building permits increased 52.5% compared to the same period in 2023 - the fastest increase among provinces. Halifax residential permits increased 85.0% and outside the city residential permit values increased 17.0%. National residential building permit values increased 9.1%. Residential permit values were up in seven provinces. Saskatchewan reported the largest decline.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permits rose 4.1% in the first four months of 2024 (compared with the same period in 2023). Halifax permits decreased 8.9% while non-residential permits outside the city rose 26.1%. National non-residential building permit values rose 3.3%. Non-residential permit values were up in 9 of 10 provinces, led by New Brunswick. Quebec reported the only decline.
Rising residential as well as non-residential permit values boosted overall building permit values in Nova Scotia in the first four months 2024 (compared with same months of 2023).
There were increases in single dwelling unit as well as multiple unit permits across the province.
Non-residential permit values were up in commercial projects in Halifax while outside the city commercial projects were down. Institutional and government building permits were down in Halifax. These declines were offset by rising institutional and government project permits outside Halifax and higher industrial permits across the province.
Trends
Overall building permit values have generally been on a rising trend since the middle of 2021, 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 started to rise again in Halifax in the middle of last year. Residential permit values outside the city have been consistently above pre-pandemic levels since 2022.
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 have reached a peak in recent months in Halifax with an upward trend since the middle of 2022 in the rest of the province.
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.
Non-residential building permits have lower values than residential permits. After rising in early 2023, Halifax values for industrial building permits have been trending down. Halifax commercial building permits have picked up while institutional/government projects have been trending down. Outside the city, permits have reached the peak and there is a recent decline in 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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