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November 06, 2018BUILDING PERMITS, SEPTEMBER 2018 
In September, the value of building permits issued in Nova Scotia declined 20.2 per cent, following a (revised) loss of 5.6 per cent in August. Residential permits declined 2.1 per cent and non-residential building permits decreased 44.3 per cent in September. Monthly results for building permits are highly volatile; the six-month moving average of residential permits trended modestly upwards through 2017 and then declined in early 2018. In recent months, residential permits have re-established an upward trend. 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 September, the value of Halifax building permits declined by 20.4 per cent, reflecting decreases in both residential (-8.1 per cent) and non-residential (-40.7 per cent) permits. The six-month moving average for residential permits in Halifax rose from mid-2016 through 2017 and then declined in the early months of 2018. Since the spring of 2018, residential permits have been trending upward. Non-residential permits in Halifax have trended down since last June.
Outside the Halifax market, building permit values were down 20.0 per cent in September, reflecting a 47.4 per cent decline in non-residential permits, partially offset by a 5.8 per cent increase in residential permits.
In the first nine months of 2018, the value of Nova Scotia building permits was down 9.7 per cent compared to the same period in 2017. Residential permits are 13.8 per cent lower than the first three quarters of 2017, and non-residential permits are down 1.0 per cent. The decline in non-residential building permits reflects declines in commercial (-3.5 per cent) and institutional and governmental (-38.7 per cent), partially offset by a 60.5 per cent increase in industrial permits. Halifax building permits were down 21.1 per cent over January to September 2017, while building permits outside of Halifax rose by 10.7 per cent.
Nova Scotia's five economic regions combined for a total of $110.4 million (unadjusted) in residential and non-residential building permits in September 2018. The largest contributor was the Halifax region, with a combined residential and non-residential permit value of $53.6 million.
So far in 2018, building permits (unadjusted) among the economic regions totaled $1.0 billion, of which 68.5 per cent was in Halifax economic region.
In the first nine months of 2018, the number of residential dwelling-units created in Nova Scotia was down 486 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 and multiples were both up.
Nationally, residential building permit values were on an upward trend in 2016 but have levelled off since early 2017. Residential building permits edged up 0.3 per cent in September. Non-residential building permit values rose through 2017 and peaked toward the end of the year, remaining relatively flat through 2018. Non-residential building permits increased 0.6 per cent in September.
Comparing the first nine months of 2018 with the same period in 2017, British Columbia (+16.6 per cent) and Quebec (+16.0 per cent) reported the largest gains in residential permits, in percentage terms. Saskatchewan posted the largest decline (-25.4 per cent) over this period.
Year-to-date, Newfoundland and Labrador had the largest gains in non-residential building permits (+63.7 per cent) while New Brunswick reported the largest decline (-25.2 per cent).
Total building permits were up in five provinces in the first nine months of 2018, with Newfoundland and Labrador (+18.3 per cent) reporting the largest gains (in percentage terms). Saskatchewan reported the largest decline over this period (-16.5 per cent) followed by New Brunswick (+15.8 per cent).
Sources: Statistics Canada Table 34-10-0066-01
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