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September 18, 2024BUILDING CONSTRUCTION, JULY 2024 Monthly (July 2024 vs June 2024, seasonally adjusted)
Investment in Nova Scotia building construction fell 1.2% in July 2024 to $563.2 million. Halifax monthly building construction grew 1.0% to $289.2 million and outside of Halifax building construction was down 3.4% to $274.0 million. Nationally, investment in building construction declined 1.7% with declines in seven provinces. The largest decline was in Prince Edward Island while Manitoba reporting the largest gain.
Nova Scotia's July 2024 residential construction investment fell 2.1% to $457.2 million. Halifax residential construction was down 0.7% to $226.3 million. Outside of Halifax residential construction was down 3.4% to $230.8 million. National residential construction was down 2.2% with declines in 7 of 10 provinces. Prince Edward Island had the largest decline, with Saskatchewan reporting the largest gain.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building construction grew 2.8% to $106.0 million. In Halifax, non-residential construction was up 7.8% to $62.9 million. Outside of Halifax, non-residential construction was down 3.7% to $43.1 million. National non-residential building construction decreased 0.4% in July 2024 with gains in 5 provinces, led by Prince Edward Island. Saskatchewan reported the largest decline in non-residential building construction.
Year-to-date (January-July 2024 vs January-July 2023)
Compared to January-July 2023, building construction investment was up 22.9% in Nova Scotia. Halifax construction activity was up 30.5% and outside of Halifax construction activity was up 15.5%. National building construction investment was up 5.9%, with gains in 8 provinces, led by Prince Edward Island. Newfoundland and Labrador and Ontario reported declines.
Residential construction investment was up 20.3% in Nova Scotia compared to January-July 2023. Halifax's residential construction was up 32.7% and outside of Halifax residential construction was up 9.6%. National residential construction was up 6.1% 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 36.5% compared to January-July 2023. Halifax's non-residential construction rose 22.5% while outside of Halifax, non-residential construction was up 61.6%. National non-residential construction investment increased 5.4% compared to January-July 2023. Eight 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 $3.11 billion in January-July 2023 to $3.83 billion in January-July 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 as well as multiple unit construction have been rising. Outside the city, investment in single dwelling unit construction is typically higher than for 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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