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February 02, 2022BUILDING PERMITS, DECEMBER AND ANNUAL 2021 Month over month (seasonally adjusted, Dec 2021 vs. Nov 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) decreased 18.0% to $231.3 million. Halifax permits decreased 31.5% to $142.1 million. Outside the city, permit values increased 19.4% to $89.2 million. National permits decreased 1.9% to $11.16 billion. Building permit values were down in 8 of 10 provinces, led by Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia. Manitoba reported the largest increase.
Nova Scotia's residential building permits decreased 27.1% to $164.9 million. Halifax residential permits decreased 39.2% to $102.3 million. Outside the city, residential permit values increased 8.0% to $62.6 million. National residential building permit values decreased 2.7% to $7.75 billion. Residential permit values were down in 6 of 10 provinces, led by Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia. Alberta and Manitoba reported the largest increases.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permits increased 18.9% to $66.4 million. Halifax permits increased 1.7% to $39.8 million. Outside the city, non-residential permit values increased 59.0% to $26.6 million. National non-residential building permit values were little changed at $3.41 billion. Non-residential permit values were down in 6 of 10 provinces, led by Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador. British Columbia and Prince Edward Island reported the largest increases.
Annual (2021 vs. 2020)
Nova Scotia's total building permits (residential and non-residential) increased 23.5% to $2,189.2 million. Halifax permits increased 16.6% to $1196.8 million. Outside the city, permit values increased 33.1% to $992.3 million. National permits increased 24.3% to $125.54 billion. Building permit values were up in 9 of 10 provinces, led by Quebec and Alberta. Newfoundland and Labrador was the only province to report a decline.
Nova Scotia's residential building permits increased 30.5% to $1,668.9 million. Halifax residential permits increased 18.3% to $930.2 million. Outside the city, residential permit values increased 50.0% to $738.6 million. National residential building permit values increased 29.1% to $86.71 billion. Residential permit values were up in all provinces, led by Manitoba and Alberta. Newfoundland and Labrador reported the smallest gain.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permits increased 5.4% to $520.3 million. Halifax permits increased 11.0% to $266.6 million. Outside the city, non-residential permit values increased 0.2% to $253.7 million. National non-residential building permit values increased 14.7% to $38.83 billion. Non-residential permit values were up in 6 of 10 provinces, led by Quebec and Alberta. Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island reported the largest declines.
Overall building permit values in Nova Scotia increased in 2021 compared with 2020. This reflects an increase in most residential and non-residential permit types across the province. Halifax single unit residential permit values were down slightly in 2021 and institutional and governmental building permits declined compared to 2020.
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 at the end of 2020 and through most of 2021, particularly in residential projects across the province. There has been an upward trend in residential and 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. 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). In recent months single and multi-unit building permits are increasing in Halifax.
Non-residential building permits have lower values than residential permits. Halifax non-residential building permits have been increasing in recent months. Commercial projects generally account for the bulk of non-residential building permit values. Commercial permits in Halifax had an upward trend since August 2021. Commercial project building permit values outside Halifax have been flat in recent months. Industrial building permits have moved upwards in recent months.
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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