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June 10, 2019BUILDING PERMITS, APRIL 2019 
In April, the value of building permits (seasonally adjusted) issued in Nova Scotia decreased 3.1 per cent, following a (revised) increase of 0.7 per cent in March. Residential permits rose 6.4 per cent while non-residential building permits declined 27.1 per cent. Monthly results for building permits are highly volatile; the six-month moving average of residential permits trended modestly upwards through 2017 and then declined in early 2018. Residential permits have since re-established an upward trend. The non-residential permits' six-month moving average remained relatively flat from mid-2017 to late 2018, and has trended downward in more recent months.
The trend in Nova Scotia building permit values largely reflects the trends in the Halifax market. The value of Halifax building permits increased 11.1 per cent in April, reflecting a 31.5 per cent increase in residential permits and a 41.4 per cent decrease in non-residential permits. The six-month moving average for residential permits in Halifax rose from mid-2016 through 2017 and then declined in the early months of 2018. Since the spring of 2018, residential permits have been trending upward. Non-residential permits in Halifax have trended down since June 2017.
Outside the Halifax market, building permit values declined 21.4 per cent in April 2019, as residential and non-residential permits declined 26.4 and 9.2 per cent, respectively. Non-residential permits trended upward outside of Halifax from mid-2017 to mid-2018, but have trended downward in recent months. Residential permits have trended upward at a more modest pace.
In January-April 2019, the value of Nova Scotia building permits was up 16.1 per cent compared to the first four months of 2018. Residential permits are 38.1 per cent higher, and non-residential permits are down 22.5 per cent, year-to-date. The decline in non-residential building permits reflects declines in industrial (-60.3 per cent) and commercial (-16.1 per cent), while institutional and government permits were up 53.2 per cent. Halifax building permits were up 26.6 per cent in the first four months of 2019 on strong gains in the residential sector, while building permits outside of Halifax were up 1.7 per cent.
Building permits in Nova Scotia's five economic regions totaled $467 million (unadjusted) in the first four months of 2019. The largest contributor was the Halifax region, with a combined residential and non-residential permit value of $335 million in the first four months of the year. Year-to-date, the total value of residential and non-residential permits was up in Cape Breton, North Shore and Halifax, and was down in the Annapolis Valley and Southern regions.
In the first four months of 2019, the number of residential dwelling-units created (seasonally adjusted) in Nova Scotia was up by 738 units compared to January to April 2018. Across the province, the number of multiple units created was up. The number of singles created in Halifax was up while it was down outside of Halifax.
Nationally, residential building permit values (seasonally adjusted) were on an upward trend in 2016 but have levelled off since early 2017. Residential building permits increased 24.5 per cent in April. Non-residential building permit values rose through 2017 and peaked toward the end of the year, remaining relatively flat through 2018. Non-residential building permits increased 1.1 per cent in April.
Comparing January-April 2019 with the same period in 2018, Nova Scotia (+38.1 per cent) showed the largest gain in residential permits in percentage terms. Newfoundland (-28.3 per cent) showed the largest decline, year-to-date, followed by Sasketchewan (-23.7 per cent) and Alberta (-23.3 per cent).
Year-to-date, British Columbia had the largest gains in non-residential building permits (+49.6 per cent), while Nova Scotia reported the largest decline (-22.5 per cent), followed by Alberta (-21.3 per cent).
Total building permits values (seasonally adjusted) were up in four provinces in the first four months of 2019, with British Columbia (+24.5 per cent), Prince Edward Island (+23.9 per cent) and Nova Scotia (+16.1 per cent) reporting the largest gains (in percentage terms). Alberta reported the largest decline over this period (-22.6 per cent) followed by Newfoundland and Labrador (-17.7 per cent).
Source: Statistics Canada Table 34-10-0066-01
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