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July 02, 2021BUILDING PERMITS, MAY 2021 With May reference month results, year-over-year (May 2021 vs May 2020) and year-to-date (Jan-May 21 vs Jan-May 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, May 2021 vs. Apr 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 2.2% to $103.3 million. Halifax permits decreased 41.0% to $16.4 million. Outside the city, permit values increased 11.6% to $86.9 million. National permits decreased 14.8% to $9.47 billion. Building permit values were down in 8 of 10 provinces, led by New Brunswick and Ontario. Building permit values were up in Newfoundland and Labrador and Manitoba.
Nova Scotia's residential building permits increased 4.6% to $83.4 million. Halifax residential permits decreased 40.2% to $12.3 million. Outside the city, residential permit values increased 20.1% to $71.1 million. National residential building permit values decreased 16.0% to $6.48 billion. Residential permit values were up in 3 of 10 provinces, led by Quebec and Nova Scotia. New Brunswick and Ontario reported the largest declines.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permits decreased 23.2% to $19.9 million. Halifax permits decreased 43.2% to $4.1 million. Outside the city, non-residential permit values decreased 15.5% to $15.8 million. National non-residential building permit values decreased 12.2% to $2.99 billion. Non-residential permit values were up in 4 of 10 provinces, led by Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick. Nova Scotia and Quebec reported the largest declines.
Year-to-date (Jan-May 2021 vs. Jan-May 2020)
Nova Scotia's total building permits (residential and non-residential) decreased 3.9% to $647.8 million. Halifax permits decreased 40.8% to $237.4 million. Outside the city, permit values increased 50.1% to $410.4 million. National permits increased 33.6% to $52.07 billion. Building permit values were up in 8 of 10 provinces, led by Prince Edward Island and Quebec. Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia reported decline in building permits.
Nova Scotia's residential building permits increased 11.5% to $515.3 million. Halifax residential permits decreased 29.6% to $201.9 million. Outside the city, residential permit values increased 78.4% to $313.4 million. National residential building permit values increased 45.9% to $36.50 billion. Residential permit values were up in all provinces, led by Prince Edward Island and Quebec. Nova Scotia reported the smallest gain.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permits decreased 37.5% to $132.5 million. Halifax permits decreased 68.9% to $35.5 million. Outside the city, non-residential permit values decreased 0.8% to $97.0 million. National non-residential building permit values increased 11.7% to $15.57 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 declined from January-May 2020 to January-May 2021. This reflects a decline in Halifax permits from single-dwelling residential projects as well as commercial buildings, offset by gains outside the city, mostly in residential dwellings (both single and multi-unit). There were no single-dwelling unit permits for Halifax in 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 declining in recent months (no single-dwelling unit permits reported for Halifax in May 2021). 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 permit values in Halifax have declined over the last half of 2020. 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)