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March 13, 2025BUILDING PERMITS, JANUARY 2025 Monthly (seasonally adjusted, January 2025 vs December 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 14.4 % to $327.6 million. Halifax permits declined 1.0% to $195.5 million while permits outside the city rose 48.6% to $132.0 million. National permits fell 3.2% to $12.81 billion. Total building permit values were up in five provinces, led by New Brunswick. Prince Edward Island reported the largest monthly decline in building permit values.
Nova Scotia's residential building permits fell 10.4% to $209.5 million. Halifax residential permits dropped 17.3% to $144.6 million. Outside the city, residential permit values rose 10.1% to $64.9 million. National residential building permit values declined 3.4% to $8.78 billion. Residential permit values were down in six of ten provinces, led by Prince Edward Island. New Brunswick reported the fastest gain in residential permit values.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permits rose 124.7% to $118.1 million. Halifax permits grew 124.5% to $50.9 million. Outside the city, non-residential permit values rose 124.9% to $67.1 million. National non-residential building permit values declined 2.7% to $4.03 billion. Non-residential permit values were up in six of ten provinces, led by New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador. British Columbia reported the fastest decline non-residential permit values.
Year-over-year (January 2025 vs January 2024)
Nova Scotia's total building permits (residential and non-residential) were down 2.5% in January 2025 compared to January 2024. Halifax permits declined 10.1% and outside the city permit values increased 11.6%. National permits were up 16.9%. Building permit values were up in every province except Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, with Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan reporting the fastest increases.
In January 2025, Nova Scotia's residential building permits decreased 19.8% compared to January 2024. Halifax residential permits fell 17,7% and outside the city residential permit values fell 24.3%. National residential building permit values increased 29.3%. Residential permit values were up all provinces except Nova Scotia, with the fastest increases in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permits rose 58.5% in January 2025 compared to January 2024. Halifax permits increased 21.5% while non-residential permits outside the city rose 106.1%. National non-residential building permit values declined 3.2% year-over-year. Non-residential permit values were up in six provinces, led by Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick. Prince Edward Island reported the largest decline.
Higher non-residential permits in the first month of the year were offset by lower residential permits in Halifax. Outside of Halifax, higher non-residential permits offset declines in residential permits in January 2025, resulting in higher overall permits compared to January 2024.
Residential permit declines in January 2025 reflected lower permits for both single and multiple unit dwellings across the province.
Non-residential permit values were up due to notable growth in institutional and government permits across the province. Industrial permit values were largely unchanged across the province compared to January 2024. Lower commercial permits in Halifax were fully offset but higher permits outside the city, resulting in a similar level of commerical permits in January 2025.
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 started to rise again in Halifax in the middle of 2023. Halifax residential permits reached a peak mid-2024 and trended down through the second half of the year.
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 while declining in the rest of Nova Scotia, resulting in a continuation of flat trend for most of 2024. Non-residential permits have trended down in recent months.
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 trended down in the second half of 2024 due to the decline among multiples in Halifax and lower permits for single unit dwellings.
Non-residential building permits have lower values than residential permits. In Halifax, non-residential permits reached a peak and have been trending down for several months. Commercial projects and institutional/governmental projects have been 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 exhibited a rise in recent months due to growth in commercial and institutional and 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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