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March 04, 2022BUILDING PERMITS, JANUARY 2022 Month over month (seasonally adjusted, Jan 2022 vs. Dec 2021)
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) decreased 21.1% to $181.6 million. Halifax permits decreased 28.8% to $99.2 million. Outside the city, permit values decreased 9.2% to $82.4 million. National permits decreased 8.8% to $10.12 billion. Building permit values were down in 7 of 10 provinces, led by British Columbia, New Brunswick, and Saskatchewan. Newfoundland and Labrador reported the largest increase.
Nova Scotia's residential building permits decreased 10.6% to $147.8 million. Halifax residential permits decreased 20.6% to $80.6 million. Outside the city, residential permit values increased 5.4% to $67.2 million. National residential building permit values decreased 11.6% to $6.72 billion. Residential permit values were down in 8 of 10 provinces, with the largest declines in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick. Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island reported gains.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permits decreased 47.8% to $33.8 million. Halifax permits decreased 50.9% to $18.6 million. Outside the city, non-residential permit values decreased 43.6% to $15.2 million. National non-residential building permit values decreased 2.7% to $3.40 billion. Non-residential permit values were down in 6 of 10 provinces, with the largest declines in Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador. Alberta and Saskatchewan reported the largest gains.
Year-over-year (Jan 2022 vs. Jan 2021)
Nova Scotia's total building permits (residential and non-residential) increased 38.0%. Halifax permits increased 81.9%. Outside the city, permit values increased 7.0%. National permits increased 1.0%. Building permit values were down in 7 of 10 provinces, with the largest declines in New Brunswick and Saskatchewan. Nova Scotia and Quebec reported the largest gains.
Nova Scotia's residential building permits increased 38.7%. Halifax residential permits increased 72.5%. Outside the city, residential permit values increased 12.3%. National residential building permit values decreased 5.6%. Residential permit values were down in 6 of 10 provinces, with the largest declines in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick. Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island reported the largest gains.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permits increased 35.0%. Halifax permits increased 137.6%. Outside the city, non-residential permit values decreased 11.6%. National non-residential building permit values increased 17.4%. Non-residential permit values were up in 5 of 10 provinces, led by Saskatchewan and Alberta. Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador reported the largest declines.
Overall building permit values in Nova Scotia increased in January 2022 compared with January 2021. This reflects an increase in most residential and non-residential permit types across the province. Outside of Halifax multi unit residential permit values and institutional and governmental building permit values declined compared to January 2021.
Trends
Nova Scotia building permit values increased in 2019, mainly due to rising residential permits in Halifax. Permit values trended down in late 2019 and the first half of 2020 but have been rising since then. There was a notable acceleration in building permit values at the end of 2020 and through most of 2021, particularly in residential projects across the province. There has been an upward trend in residential building permit values in Halifax in recent months.
Trends in residential permit values reflect the differences in housing markets for Halifax and the rest of the province. Halifax residential permits were more concentrated in multi-unit dwellings in 2019. Over the last two years, multi-unit building permits had declined in Halifax. Outside Halifax, single dwelling units make up the majority of building permit values, and these have been increasing sharply since the second half of 2020 (multi-unit permits outside Halifax were also up over this period). In recent months single and multi-unit building permits are increasing in Halifax.
Non-residential building permits have lower values than residential permits. Halifax non-residential building permits have been increasing in recent months. Commercial projects generally account for the bulk of non-residential building permit values. Commercial permits in Halifax had an upward trend since August 2021. Commercial project building permit values outside Halifax have been flat in recent months. Industrial building permits have moved upwards in recent months.
Source: Statistics Canada. Table 34-10-0066-01 Building permits, by type of structure and type of work (x 1,000)
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