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July 22, 2019INVESTMENT IN BUILDING CONSTRUCTION, MAY 2019 Total residential and non-residential construction
Investment in Nova Scotia building construction declined 8.7 per cent in May (seasonally adjusted) compared to April 2019. This is the second consecutive monthly decline for Nova Scotia. Halifax monthly building construction was down 6.1 per cent in May
Nationally, investment in building construction rose 2.2 per cent in May. British Columbia and Manitoba reported the strongest monthly gains while Nova Scotia reported the largest monthly decline.
In the first five months of 2019, building construction investment was up 12.8 per cent in Nova Scotia. Halifax construction activity was up 12.0 per cent. National building construction investment declined 0.4 per cent with four provinces reporting growth over January-May 2018. The fastest growth was reported in Prince Edward Island (+17.8 per cent) followed by British Columbia (16.3 per cent) and Nova Scotia. The largest declines over this period were reported in Newfoundland and Labrador (-20.9 per cent) and Alberta (-15.1 per cent).
Total Nova Scotia building construction investment was $279 million in May. In recent years, Halifax has accounted for a rising share of construction activity in the province, particularly for residential investment. Halifax building construction totaled $166 million in May, while there was $113 million in building construction outside of Halifax.
Residential construction
In May 2019, residential construction investment (seasonally adjusted) in Nova Scotia declined 9.9 per cent to $229 million. Halifax residential construction was down 6.5 per cent to $142 million.
National residential construction rose 2.8 per cent month-to-month. Five provinces reported higher residential construction investment in May. The fastest gains were in Manitoba (+18.4 per cent), while the largest declines were in Nova Scotia.
Year-to-date, residential construction investment was up 17.2 per cent in Nova Scotia. Halifax's residential construction was up 20.6 per cent compared to January-May 2018.
National residential construction was down 2.8 per cent in the first five months of 2019. Four provinces reported growth for the period, with Nova Scotia (+17.2 per cent) and Prince Edward Island (+14.7 per cent) reporting the fastest growth. Newfoundland and Labrador reported the largest decline over the same period in 2018 (-40.1 per cent).
Investment in renovations and new construction for multiples accounts for the rise in residential construction activity (unadjusted) observed in the first five months of 2019 in Nova Scotia. New construction is down for single dwelling units. Other residential construction activity (such as conversions) is up significantly in percentage terms, but has contributed less than other residential activities to the overall rise in residential building expenditures so far this year.
Non-residential construction
In May, non-residential building construction declined 2.5 per cent to $49 million in Nova Scotia (seasonally adjusted). Non-residential construction was down 3.5 per cent in Halifax, falling to $24 million.
National non-residential building construction rose 0.9 per cent in May. Six provinces reported monthly gains, with the fastest growth reported in Prince Edward Island (+6.7 per cent) and Saskatchewan (+4.2 per cent). New Brunswick (-3.0 per cent) reported the largest monthly decline, followed by Nova Scotia.
Year-to-date, Nova Scotia's non-residential construction is down 4.3 per cent compared to the first five months of 2018. Halifax's non-residential construction is down 19.5 per cent year-to-date.
National non-residential construction investment rose 5.0 per cent. The fastest growth was reported in Newfoundland and Labrador (+41.1 per cent), British Columbia (+29.6 per cent) and Prince Edward Island (+29.2 per cent). The fastest declines were reported in Ontario (-6.6 per cent) followed by Nova Scotia.
In Nova Scotia, year-to-date non-residential building construction declines are concentrated in both commercial and institutional/government projects in Halifax. Non-residential construction is up outside of Halifax on gains in industrial, commercial and institutional/government expenditures.
Source: Statistics Canada. Table 34-10-0175-01 Investment in Building Construction
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