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January 28, 2021BUILDING PERMITS, DECEMBER AND ANNUAL 2020 Month over month (seasonally adjusted, November vs. October 2020)
Changes in monthly building permit values are typically very volatile, with large swings from one month to the next. Nova Scotia's total building permits (residential and non-residential) increased 62.5% to $259.7 million. Halifax permits increased 72.4% to $147.7 million. Outside the city, permit values increased 51.2% to $112.0 million.
National permits decreased 4.1% to $9.08 billion. Building permit values were up in 7 of 10 provinces, led by Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia. Ontario and Alberta reported the largest declines.
Nova Scotia's residential building permits increased 48.1% to $184.0 million. Halifax residential permits increased 79.3% to $124.3 million. Outside the city, residential permit values increased 8.7% to $59.7 million.
National residential building permit values decreased 0.9% to $6.36 billion. Residential permit values were up in 5 of 10 provinces, led by Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan. New Brunswick and Alberta reported the largest declines.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permits increased 113.0% to $75.7 million. Halifax permits increased 43.0% to $23.4 million. Outside the city, non-residential permit values increased 172.8% to $52.3 million.
National non-residential building permit values decreased 10.8% to $2.73 billion. Non-residential permit values were up in 6 of 10 provinces, led by Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island. Ontario and Alberta reported the largest declines.
Annual (2020 vs. 2019)
Nova Scotia's total building permits (residential and non-residential) decreased 1.7% to $1,731.7 million. Halifax permits decreased 8.7% to $1002.4 million. Outside the city, permit values increased 10.0% to $729.3 million.
National permits decreased 3.3% to $99.46 billion. Building permit values were down in 7 of 10 provinces, with the largest declines in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island reported the largest gains.
Nova Scotia's residential building permits decreased 0.2% to $1,256.5 million. Halifax residential permits decreased 10.0% to $769.3 million. Outside the city, residential permit values increased 20.3% to $487.2 million.
National residential building permit values increased 6.0% to $65.84 billion. Residential permit values were up in 7 of 10 provinces, led by New Brunswick and Saskatchewan. British Columbia and Alberta reported the largest declines.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permits decreased 5.2% to $475.2 million. Halifax permits decreased 4.2% to $233.1 million. Outside the city, non-residential permit values decreased 6.1% to $242.1 million.
National non-residential building permit values decreased 17.5% to $33.62 billion. Non-residential permit values were down in 8 of 10 provinces, with the largest declines in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick. Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island were the only provinces to report gains.
Between 2019 and 2020, the value of building permits in Nova Scotia declined by 1.7% or $29.3 million. Declines in commercial projects across the province as well as falling residential permits in Halifax were partially offset by rising institutional/government perments as well as residential permits outside the city.
Trends
Nova Scotia building permit values increased in 2019, mainly due to rising residential permits in Halifax. Permit values trended down in late 2019 and the first half of 2020, but have been rising since then. There has been a notable acceleration in building permit values towards the end of the year, particularly in residential projects as well as non-residential projects outside Halifax.
In 2019 the rise in residential permit values was concentrated in Halifax multiple-unit dwellings. However, in 2020, there was a decline in Halifax multi-unit residential permit values and a rise in single dwelling unit permit values (both in Halifax and the rest of the province). Multi-unit residential permits were up outside Halifax in 2020.
Source: Statistics Canada. Table 34-10-0066-01 Building permits, by type of structure and type of work (x 1,000)
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