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July 10, 2018BUILDING PERMITS, MAY 2018
In May, the value of building permits issued in Nova Scotia decreased 4.1 per cent, following a (revised) increase of 23.1 per cent in April. Non-residential building permits decreased 4.9 per cent while residential permits decreased 3.7 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 May, the value of Halifax building permits decreased 5.8 per cent, reflecting decreases in both non-residential (-3.8 per cent) and residential (-6.7 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 0.9 per cent in May, reflecting a 6.5 per cent decline in non-residential permits and a 2.4 per cent increase in residential permits.
In the first five months of 2018, the value of Nova Scotia building permits was down 15.3 per cent compared to the same period in 2017. Residential permits are 15.4 per cent lower than the first five months of 2017, and non-residential permits are 14.9 per cent lower. The decline in non-residential building permits reflects declines in commercial (-4.7 per cent) and institutional and governmental (-85.7 per cent) permits, partially offset by a 37.1 per cent increase in industrial permits. Halifax building permits were down 17.3 per cent over January to May 2017, while building permits declined outside of Halifax by 12.3 per cent.
In the first five months of 2018, the number of dwelling-units created in Nova Scotia was down 314 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 increased 7.7 per cent in May. 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 0.7 per cent in May.
Comparing the first five months of 2018 with the same period in 2017, Quebec had the largest gains (+24.1 per cent) in residential permits, in percentage terms. Saskatchewan posted the largest decline over this period.
Year-to-date, Newfoundland and Labrador had the largest gains in non-residential building permits while New Brunswick reported the largest decline (-38.7 per cent).
Total building permits were up in six provinces in the first five months of 2018, with Newfoundland and Labrador (+27.5 per cent) and Quebec (+24.3 per cent) reporting the largest gains (in percentage terms). New Brunswick reported the largest decline over this period (-26.7 per cent) followed by Nova Scotia.
ECONOMIC REGIONS
Nova Scotia's five economic regions combined for a total of $180.3 million in residential and nonresidential building permits in May 2018. The largest contributor was the Halifax region, at a combined residential and nonresidential permit value of $111.5 million.
So far in 2018, building permits (unadjusted) among the economic regions totaled $539.8 million, of which 63.2 per cent was in Halifax economic region.
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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