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June 06, 2018BUILDING PERMITS, APRIL 2018 
In April, the value of building permits issued in Nova Scotia increased 19.6 per cent, following a (revised) decline of 1.2 per cent in March. Non-residential building permits increased 21.0 per cent while residential permits increased 18.9 per cent . Monthly results for building permits are highly volatile; the six-month moving average of residential permits trended modestly upwards through 2017 but has declined in recent months. The non-residential permits' six-month moving average has remained flat since mid-2017.
The trend in Nova Scotia building permit values largely reflects the trends in the Halifax market. In April, the value of Halifax building permits increased 53.7 per cent, reflecting increases in both non-residential (+76.1 per cent) and residential (+44.8 per cent) permits. The six-month moving average for residential permits in Halifax rose from mid-2016 through 2017 but has been declining since the end of 2017. Non-residential permits in Halifax have recently peaked and are now trending down.
Outside the Halifax market, building permit values declined 15.4 per cent in April, reflecting a 19.2 per cent decline in non-residential permits and a 12.9 per cent decline in residential permits.
In the first four months of 2018, the value of Nova Scotia building permits was down 21.8 per cent compared to the same period in 2017. Residential permits are 23.4 per cent lower than the first four months of 2017, and non-residential permits are 18.8 per cent lower. The decline in non-residential building permits reflects declines in commercial (-5.0 per cent) and institutional and governmental (-87.6 per cent) permits, partially offset by a 26.9 per cent increase in industrial permits. Halifax building permits were down 26.0 per cent over January to April 2017, while building permits declined outside of Halifax by 15.5 per cent.
In the first four months of 2018, the number of dwelling-units created in Nova Scotia was down 386 units over the same period in 2017. In Halifax, both singles and multiples created were down on a year-to-date basis. Outside of Halifax, singles were up while multiples declined.
Nationally, residential building permit values were on an upward trend in 2016 but have levelled off since early 2017. Residential building permits declined 4.3 per cent in April. Non-residential building permit values had been trending upward in 2017 after declining through 2015 and 2016 and have recently peaked. Non-residential building permits decreased 5.2 per cent in April.
Comparing the first four months of 2018 with the same period in 2017, Prince Edward Island had the largest gains (+44.7 per cent) in residential permits, in percentage terms. Nova Scotia posted the largest decline over this period.
Year-to-date, Newfoundland and Labrador had the largest gains (+142.5 per cent, influenced by a particularly active non-residential construction sector in January and April 2018) in non-residential building permits while New Brunswick reported the largest decline (-34.7 per cent).
Total building permits were up in six provinces in the first four months of 2018, with Newfoundland and Labrador (+56.8 per cent) and Prince Edward Island (+40.3 per cent) reporting the largest gains (in percentage terms). New Brunswick reported the largest decline over this period (-24.3 per cent) followed by Nova Scotia.
Starting with the reference month January 2018, Statistics Canada has changed how they report building permits. CANSIM Tables 026-0001, 026-0008 and 026-0010 have been combined into 026-0021 which now include data on type of structure and type of work. Statistics Canada no longer report building permits by economic regions, which were previously reported in the DailyStats. There was only one conceptual change regarding the classification of “cottages” based on the permit value, which does not affect how the DailyStats reports single dwelling units.
Sources: CANSIM 026-0021
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