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July 19, 2023BUILDING CONSTRUCTION, MAY 2023 Monthly (May 2023 vs April 2023, seasonally adjusted)
Investment in Nova Scotia building construction decreased 13.6% in May 2023 to $539.3 million. Halifax monthly building construction decreased 8.0% to $265.7 million and outside of Halifax building construction was down 18.5% to $273.6 million. Nationally, investment in building construction decreased 1.2% with the largest decline in Nova Scotia and largest gain in New Brunswick. Monthly construction was down in half of the provinces.
Nova Scotia's May 2023 residential construction investment decreased 15.4% to $469.6 million. Halifax residential construction was down 9.6% to $219.3 million. Outside of Halifax residential construction was down 19.9% to $250.3 million. National residential construction was down 1.7% with declines in five provinces. New Brunswick had the largest gain while Nova Scotia had the largest decline.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building construction increased 0.9% to $69.7 million. In Halifax, non-residential construction was up 0.8% to $46.4 million. Outside of Halifax, non-residential construction was up 1.1% to $23.3 million. National non-residential building construction remained largely unchanged in May 2023. Six provinces reported increases, with the largest increase in newfoundland and Labrador. The largest decline was reported in Québec.
Year-to-date (January-May 2023 vs January-May 2022)
Compared to January-May 2022, building construction investment was up 5.4% in Nova Scotia. Halifax construction activity was down 5.1% and outside of Halifax construction activity was up 16.9%. National building construction investment was down 0.7% with decreases in six provinces, led by Prince Edward Island. The largest gain was in British Columbia.
Residential construction investment was up 6.4% in Nova Scotia compared to January-May 2022. Halifax's year-to-date residential construction was down 8.5% and outside of Halifax, residential construction was up 22.1% year-to-date. National residential construction was down 4.7% with gains only in British Columbia, Nova Scotia, and Ontario. The largest decrease was in Prince Edward Island.
Nova Scotia's non-residential construction was down 0.9% compared to January-April 2022. Halifax's non-residential construction rose 13.8% while outside of Halifax, non-residential construction was down 20.1%. National non-residential construction investment increased 10.9% compared to January-May 2022. Eight provinces reported increases, with the largest increase in New Brunswick. The largest decline was reported in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Nova Scotia's total building construction investment increased from $2.42 billion in January-May 2022 to $2.55 billion was mostly attributable to increases in residential investment outside Halifax and non-residential investment in Halifax. Halifax residential decline was more notable in single dwellings than multiple dwellings. The small non-residential decrease occurred with lower investment in industrial buildings offsetting higher commercial investment and institutional/governmental buildings.
Trends
Building construction increased over recent years with rising residential investment in Halifax and outside Halifax. Residential building construction peaked in 2022 then declined for several months. In recent results, residential building construction activity has picked up again, particularly outside Halifax. Non-residential building construction has been maintaining a slightly elevated level in Halifax in the most recent periods.
In Halifax, residential construction investment was trending up for both single and multi-unit dwellings until mid 2022. However, in recent months both are declining. Outside the city, growth in single dwelling unit construction is stronger than in multi-unit structures. The recent reversal of the downward trend in residential construction for the province is largely attributable to single-dwelling unit projects outside the city.
Non-residential building construction has lower values than residential construction. Halifax commercial and industrial building construction have been on increasing trend since the end of 2021, however industrial construction which had been increasing has declined in recent months. Outside the city, non-residential construction trended down in 2022 for all three categories of non-residential building: commercial, industrial, and government/institutional. In recent months, there has been some growth in commercial building construction outside the city.
Statistics Canada. Table 34-10-0175-01 Investment in Building Construction
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