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March 03, 2023BUILDING PERMITS, JANUARY 2023 Month over month (seasonally adjusted, Jan 2023 vs. Dec 2022)
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 7.8% to $190.0 million. Halifax permits decreased 22.7% to $86.7 million. Outside the city, permit values increased 10.0% to $103.3 million. National permits decreased 4.0% to $9.78 billion. Building permit values were down in 8 of 10 provinces, led by Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador. Manitoba and Alberta reported the increases.
Nova Scotia's residential building permits decreased 24.9% to $123.1 million. Halifax residential permits decreased 43.6% to $51.7 million. Outside the city, residential permit values decreased 1.2% to $71.4 million. National residential building permit values decreased 6.6% to $6.06 billion. Residential permit values were up in 3 of 10 provinces, led by Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia reported the largest declines.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permits increased 59.1% to $66.9 million. Halifax permits increased 71.7% to $35.0 million. Outside the city, non-residential permit values increased 47.2% to $31.9 million. National non-residential building permit values increased 0.7% to $3.72 billion. Non-residential permit values were up in 3 of 10 provinces, led by Nova Scotia and British Columbia. Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador reported the largest declines.
Year over year (January 2023 vs. January 2022)
Nova Scotia's total building permits (residential and non-residential) increased 3.0%. Halifax permits decreased 18.4%. Outside the city, permit values increased 32.1%. National permits decreased 5.0%. Building permit values were up in 5 of 10 provinces, led by Manitoba and Newfoundland Labrador. Prince Edward Island and Quebec reported the largest declines.
Nova Scotia's residential building permits decreased 18.5%. Halifax residential permits decreased 40.6%. Outside the city, residential permit values increased 11.5%. National residential building permit values decreased 10.0%. Residential permit values were up in 4 of 10 provinces, led by British Columbia and Manitoba. Quebec and Prince Edward Island reported the largest declines.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permits increased 100.8%. Halifax permits increased 83.1%. Outside the city, non-residential permit values increased 124.7%. National non-residential building permit values increased 4.4%. Non-residential permit values were up in 7 of 10 provinces, led by Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island. Alberta and Quebec reported the largest declines.
Overall building permit values in Nova Scotia increased in January 2023 compared with January 2022. This reflects an increase in all non-residential permit types across the province, with the exception of industrial buildings in Halifax and institutional/government permit values outside Halifax. Residential permit values were down in January 2023 on multiple dwelling permit values across the province, which offset the gains in single dwelling permit values outside Halifax.
Trends
Overall building permit values have been on a rising trend since the middle of 2021, mostly driven by the rise in residential permit values (within Halifax as well as outside the city).
After rising sharply since 2020, residential permit values started to trend down near the end of 2022. Even so, residential permit values both in Halifax and outside the city are above pre-pandemic levels at the end of 2022.
After growing at the end of 2021, Nova Scotia's non-residential building permit values have trended down since the beginning of 2022. Non-residential permit values have trended down in Halifax as well as the rest of the province.
Trends in residential permit values reflect the differences in housing markets for Halifax and the rest of the province. In Halifax, growth in permit values for multi-unit dwellings has outpaced growth in single-dwelling unit permits. Outside the city the situation is reversed, with stronger growth in single dwelling unit permit values than in multi-unit structures.
Non-residential building permits have lower values than residential permits. After rising in late 2021, values for Halifax commercial and industrial building permits have declined. Outside the city, permits are trending down in 2022, particularly for industrial and government/institutional projects.
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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