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December 23, 2019BUILDING CONSTRUCTION, OCTOBER 2019 Total residential and non-residential construction
Investment in Nova Scotia building construction declined 9.3 per cent in October (seasonally adjusted) compared to September 2019. Halifax monthly building construction was down 10.0 per cent in October.
Nationally, investment in building construction declined 0.5 per cent in October. British Columbia reported the strongest monthly gain while Nova Scotia reported the largest monthly decline.
In the first ten months of 2019, building construction investment was up 11.5 per cent in Nova Scotia. Halifax construction activity was up 8.3 per cent. National building construction investment was up 2.1 per cent with five provinces reporting growth over January-October 2018. The fastest growth was reported in Prince Edward Island (+46.6 per cent) followed by British Columbia (+11.6 per cent) and Nova Scotia. The largest declines over this period were reported in Newfoundland and Labrador (-14.5 per cent) and Alberta (-13.2 per cent).
Total Nova Scotia building construction investment was $276.6 million in October. In recent years, Halifax has accounted for a rising share of construction activity in the province, particularly for residential investment. Halifax building construction totaled $158.5 million in October, while there was $118.1 million in building construction outside of Halifax.
Residential construction
In October 2019, residential construction investment (seasonally adjusted change from August) in Nova Scotia declined 11.6 per cent to $221.2 million. Halifax residential construction fell 12.1 per cent to $131.7 million.
National residential construction was down 1.0 per cent month-to-month as four provinces reported higher residential construction investment in October. The fastest gain was in British Columbia, while the largest decline was in Nova Scotia.
Year-to-date, residential construction investment was up 14.6 per cent in Nova Scotia. Halifax's residential construction was up 14.7 per cent compared to January-October 2018.
National residential construction was up 0.5 per cent compared to the first ten months of 2018. Five provinces reported growth for the period, with Prince Edward Island (+52.2 per cent) and Nova Scotia reporting the fastest growth. Newfoundland and Labrador reported the largest decline over the same period in 2018 (-31.0 per cent).
Investment in renovations outside of Halifax and new construction for multiples in Halifax account for most of the rise in residential construction activity (unadjusted) in the first ten months of 2019 in Nova Scotia. New construction is up 3.0 per cent year-to-date for single dwelling units. Other residential construction activity (such as conversions) is up 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 October, non-residential building construction rose 0.8 per cent to $55.5 million in Nova Scotia (seasonally adjusted change from September). In Halifax, non-residential construction was up 1.7 per cent to $26.9 million.
National non-residential building construction rose 0.5 per cent in October. Three provinces reported monthly gains, with the fastest growth reported in British Columbia (+2.3 per cent). Newfoundland and Labrador and Saskatchewan reported the largest monthly declines (both -3.0 per cent).
Year-to-date, Nova Scotia's non-residential construction is down 0.9 per cent compared to the first ten months of 2018. Halifax's non-residential construction is down 15.5 per cent year-to-date.
National non-residential construction investment rose 5.6 per cent in the first ten months of the year. The fastest growth was reported in British Columbia (+33.0 per cent), Prince Edward Island (+28.2 per cent) and Newfoundland and Labrador (+23.2 per cent). The fastest decline was reported in Ontario (-5.0 per cent).
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 commercial and institutional/government expenditures.
Source: Statistics Canada. Table 34-10-0175-01 Investment in Building Construction
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