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August 19, 2024BUILDING CONSTRUCTION, JUNE 2024 Monthly (June 2024 vs May 2024, seasonally adjusted)
Investment in Nova Scotia building construction rose 0.3% in June 2024 to $570.3 million. Halifax monthly building construction fell 5.0% to $285.8 million and outside of Halifax building construction was up 6.3% to $284.4 million. Nationally, investment in building construction increased 2.8% with gains in all 10 provinces. The largest gain was in New Brunswick, with Nova Scotia reporting the smallest gain.
Nova Scotia's June 2024 residential construction investment fell 0.2% to $467.9 million. Halifax residential construction was down 6.6% to $227.8 million. Outside of Halifax residential construction was up 6.6% to $240.2 million. National residential construction was up 3.8% with gains in 9 of 10 provinces. New Brunswick had the largest increase, with Nova Scotia reporting the only decline.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building construction grew 3.2% to $102.3 million. In Halifax, non-residential construction was up 2.0% to $58.0 million. Outside of Halifax, non-residential construction was up 4.8% to $44.3 million. National non-residential building construction increased 0.4% in June 2024 with gains in 9 provinces, led by New Brunswick. Québec reported the sole decline in non-residential building construction.
Year-to-date (January-June 2024 vs January-June 2023)
Compared to January-June 2023, building construction investment was up 21.9% in Nova Scotia. Halifax construction activity was up 29.1% and outside of Halifax construction activity was up 14.8%. National building construction investment was up 6.0%, with gains in 8 provinces, led by Prince Edward Island. Newfoundland and Labrador and Ontario reported declines.
Residential construction investment was up 19.0% in Nova Scotia compared to January-June 2023. Halifax's residential construction was up 31.1% and outside of Halifax residential construction was up 8.6%. National residential construction was up 6.0% 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 37.1% compared to January-June 2023. Halifax's non-residential construction rose 21.7% while outside of Halifax, non-residential construction was up 65.1%. National non-residential construction investment increased 5.9% compared to January-June 2023. Seven provinces reported increases, with the largest increase in Nova Scotia. The largest decline was reported in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Nova Scotia's total building construction investment increased from $2.68 billion in January-June 2023 to $3.26 billion in January-June 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, investment in single dwelling buildings grew slightly, with stronger growth in 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 an increasing trend since the end of 2021 and reached its peak in 2023. Commercial construction has shown some limited growth in recent months. Government/institutional construction has been increasing since mid-2022. Industrial investment has recently plateaued. In recent months, there has been growth in all sectors outside of Halifax, with commercial and industrial growth being more limited than government/institutional growth so far in 2024.
Statistics Canada. Table 34-10-0286-01 Investment in building construction
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