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December 18, 2024BUILDING CONSTRUCTION, OCTOBER 2024 Monthly (October 2024 vs September 2024, seasonally adjusted)
Investment in Nova Scotia building construction decreased by 7.1% in October 2024 to $520.4 million. Halifax monthly building construction was down 5.6% to $271.3 million while outside of Halifax building construction was down 8.6% to $249.1 million. Nationally, investment in building construction declined 1.1% with declines in six provinces. Newfoundland and Labrador reported the largest gain while Prince Edward Island reported the biggest drop.
Nova Scotia's October 2024 residential construction investment decreased by 9.4% to $410.2 million. Halifax residential construction was down 8.0% to $202.9 million. Outside of Halifax residential construction was down 10.8% to $207.3 million. National residential construction was dropped by 2.1% with declines in six provinces. Newfoundland and Labrador had the largest gain and Prince Edward Island reported the largest decline.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building construction grew 2.9% to $110.2 million. In Halifax, non-residential construction was up 2.3% to $68.4 million. Outside of Halifax, non-residential construction was up 3.9% to $41.8 million. National non-residential building construction was up 1.1% in October 2024 with gains in six provinces, led by Manitoba. Newfoundland and Labrador reported the largest decline in non-residential building construction.
Year-to-date (January-October 2024 vs January-October 2023)
Compared to January-October 2023, building construction investment was up 23.6% in Nova Scotia. Halifax construction activity was up 28.6% and outside of Halifax construction activity was up 18.6%. National building construction investment was up 6.1%, with gains in all provinces except Newfoundland and Labrador. Prince Edward Island reported the largest gain.
Residential construction investment was up 21.6% in Nova Scotia compared to January-October 2023. Halifax's residential construction was up 30.3% and outside of Halifax residential construction was up 13.8%. National residential construction was up 6.6% with gains in all provinces except Newfoundland and Labrador. Prince Edward Island reported the fastest gain.
Nova Scotia's non-residential construction was up 33.3% compared to January-October 2023, the fastest gain among provinces. Halifax's non-residential construction rose 22.6% while outside of Halifax, non-residential construction was up 52.8%. National non-residential construction investment increased 5.0% compared to January-October 2023. Eight provinces reported increases. Newfoundland and Labrador and Québec reported the only declines.
Nova Scotia's total building construction investment increased from $4.44 billion in January-October 2023 to $5.49 billion in January-October 2024. Residential investment as well as non-residential investment were up across the province.
Residential construction investments were up for multiple unit dwellings and single dwelling units, both inside Halifax as well as around the rest of the province.
Non-residential building construction investment was up in all categories of non-residential construction across the province: commercial, industrial, and institutional/government.
All categories and locations of building construction investment reported year-to-date growth with the fastest increases (in percentage terms) for institutional/governmental building projects - particularly outside Halifax. In Halifax, the next fastest percentage gains in construction were reported in industrial buildings and multiple unit dwellings; the slowest gain was reported for commercial buildings in Halifax. Outside the city, the next fastest percentage gains after institutional/governmental buildings were in multiple unit dwellings and industrial buildings; single dwelling units posted the slowest growth outside the city.
Trends
Building construction has trended up over recent years, particularly from rising residential investment. Residential investment (and therefore total investment) exhibits peaks and troughs around a rising trend. Non-residential investment has been on a more gradual increasing trend, primarily from investments in Halifax.
In Halifax, residential construction investment had trended up for both single and multi-unit dwellings since late 2023. In recent months both single and multi-unit dwellings reached at their peak. Outside the city, investment in single dwelling unit construction is typically higher than for multi-unit structures. In Halifax, multiple dwelling unit buildings are a slightly larger investment than single dwelling units.
Non-residential building construction has lower values than residential construction.
Halifax commercial building construction has rebounded in recent months.
Government/institutional construction has been increasing since early 2023.
Industrial investment has been growing since mid-2023 in Halifax and since late 2023 outside the city.
Statistics Canada. Table 34-10-0286-01 Investment in building construction
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