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November 23, 2018INVESTMENT IN BUILDING CONSTRUCTION, SEPTEMBER 2018 Statistics Canada has released a new data series titled "Investment in Building Construciton". This monthly data replaces previous quarterly series on investment in residential construction and investment in non-residential building construction. Most data are available on a seasonally adjusted basis (except where noted).
Note that this new data currently does not report separate data for renovation spending and for acquisition cost sub-components of total residential investments. Renovation costs are typically the largest part of Nova Scotia's residential construction investments.
Total residential and non-residential construction
Investment in Nova Scotia building construction increased 17.2 per cent in September (seasonally adjusted), compared with August. Halifax monthly building construction was up 12.4 per cent. Monthly growth in Nova Scotia building construction was well above the national pace of growth at 0.3 per cent. Nova Scotia reported the largest monthly gain among provinces while New Brunswick reported the largest decline.
Comparing the first three quarters of 2018 with the same period of 2017, building construction investment fell by 3.5 per cent in Nova Scotia. Halifax construction activity, however, was up 5.3 per cent. National building construction investment was up 4.2 per cent over this period with the fastest growth in Newfoundland and Labrador and British Columbia. The largest declines were reported in Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Through the first three quarters of 2018, the decline in residential construction activity is concentrated outside Halifax. Rising non-residential investment is concentrated in the Halifax commercial sector.
Total building construction investment reached $277 million in September. In recent years, Halifax has accounted for a rising share of construction activity in the province. After reporting about 51 per cent of total construction activity in 2016, Halifax's share of building construction activity has risen to 61 per cent of the year-to-date total.
Residential construction
Monthly residential construction was up 20.1 per cent for Nova Scotia, comparing seasonally adjusted results for September with August. National residential construction increased by 0.4 per cent. Nova Scotia reported the fastest monthly growth while New Brunswick reported the largest monthly decline.
Comparing the first three quarters of 2018 with the same period in 2017, residential construction investment declined 5.5 per cent in Nova Scotia. Halifax's residential construction was up 4.1 per cent. National residential construction was up 1.2 per cent with the largest gains in British Columbia and Quebec. The largest declines were reported in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
New housing construction investment (unadjusted) was up 0.5 per cent YTD, as rising investments in new single dwelling units for Halifax offset falling apartment construction in the city.
Non-residential construction
Non-residential building construction increased by 6.5 per cent in Nova Scotia during September (seasonally adjusted). National building construction was flat on the month. Nova Scotia reported the largest monthly increase while Saskatchewan reported the largest monthly decline.
Through the first three quarters of 2018, Nova Scotia's non-residential construction increased by 4.6 per cent compared with the same period of 2017. Halifax's non-residential construction grew by 10.1 per cent. National non-residential construction investment was up by 11.3 per cent, with the fastest gain in Newfoundland and Labrador and the only decline reported in Saskatchewan.
Statistics Canada. Table 34-10-0175-01 Investment in Building Construction
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