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August 04, 2021BUILDING PERMITS, JUNE 2021 With June reference month results, year-over-year (June 2021 vs June 2020) and year-to-date (Jan-June 21 vs Jan-June 20) are beginning to show the rebounds in economic activity from the unprecedented declines observed at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Month over month (seasonally adjusted, Jun 2021 vs. May 2021)
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 6.4% to $189.7 million. Nova Scotia's building permit values were revised up significantly (from $103.3 million to $178.4 million) for May 2021. Halifax permits increased 18.2% to $113.4 million in June 2021. Halifax building permit values were revised up significantly (from $16.4 million to $95.9 million) for May 2021. Outside the city, permit values decreased 7.4% to $76.3 million in June 2021. National permits increased 6.9% to $10.29 billion. Building permit values were up in 9 of 10 provinces, led by Saskatchewan and Ontario. Newfoundland and Labrador was the only province to report a decline.
Nova Scotia's residential building permits increased 2.1% to $153.9 million. Halifax residential permits increased 18.1% to $97.2 million. Halifax residential permits were revised up significantly (from $12.3 million to $82.3 million) for May 2021. Outside the city, residential permit values decreased 17.1% to $56.7 million. National residential building permit values increased 9.1% to $7.18 billion. Residential permit values were up in 7 of 10 provinces, led by Ontario and Saskatchewan. Residential permit values were down in Quebec, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permits increased 29.5% to $35.8 million. Halifax permits increased 18.8% to $16.2 million. Outside the city, non-residential permit values increased 39.8% to $19.6 million. National non-residential building permit values increased 2.2% to $3.11 billion. Non-residential permit values were up in 8 of 10 provinces, led by Alberta and Saskatchewan. Newfoundland and Labrador and British Columbia reported a decline.
Year-to-date (Jan-Jun 2021 vs. Jan-Jun 2020)
Nova Scotia's total building permits (residential and non-residential) increased 15.6% to $923.8 million. Halifax permits decreased 7.2% to $433.3 million. Outside the city, permit values increased 47.5% to $490.5 million. National permits increased 32.2% to $62.45 billion. Building permit values were up in 9 of 10 provinces, led by Prince Edward Island and Quebec. Newfoundland and Labrador was the only province to report a decline.
Nova Scotia's residential building permits increased 33.6% to $746.1 million. Halifax residential permits increased 9.3% to $371.2 million. Outside the city, residential permit values increased 71.5% to $375.0 million. National residential building permit values increased 42.9% to $43.68 billion. Residential permit values were up in all provinces, led by Prince Edward Island and Quebec. British Columbia reported the smallest gain.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permits decreased 26.3% to $177.7 million. Halifax permits decreased 51.2% to $62.1 million. Outside the city, non-residential permit values increased 1.5% to $115.6 million. National non-residential building permit values increased 12.5% to $18.77 billion. Non-residential permit values were up in 6 of 10 provinces, led by Prince Edward Island and Quebec. Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia reported the largest declines.
Overall building permit values in Nova Scotia increased from January-June 2020 to January-June 2021. This reflects an increase in residential permits across the province, offset by declines in non-residential permits in Halifax. Halifax single-dwelling unit permits revised up substantially for May 2021.
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 was a notable acceleration in building permit values towards the end of the year, particularly in residential projects across the province. There has been a downward trend in non-residential building permit values in Halifax in recent months.
Trends in residential permit values reflect the differences in housing markets for Halifax and the rest of the province. Halifax residential permits were more concentrated in multi-unit dwellings in 2019. Over the last two years, multi-unit building permits had declined in Halifax and rose in last months of 2020 while single dwelling unit permits increased slowly and declined in recent months. Outside Halifax, single dwelling units make up the majority of building permit values, and these have been increasing sharply since the second half of 2020 (multi-unit permits outside Halifax were also up over this period).
Non-residential building permits have lower values than residential permits. Halifax non-residential building permits have been declining in recent months. Commercial projects generally account for the bulk of non-residential building permit values. Commercial project building permit values have been declining outside Halifax since reaching a peak in mid-2019. In recent months there has been a rise in institutional/government building permit values, particularly outside Halifax.
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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