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June 21, 2019INVESTMENT IN BUILDING CONSTRUCTION, APRIL 2019 Total residential and non-residential construction
Investment in Nova Scotia building construction declined 2.6 per cent in April (seasonally adjusted) compared to March 2019. Halifax monthly building construction was up 3.0 per cent.
Nationally, investment in building construction rose 2.6 per cent in April. Manitoba reported the strongest monthly gain while Prince Edward Island (-10.3 per cent) and Saskatchewan (-10.9 per cent) reported the largest monthly declines.
In the first four months of 2019, building construction investment was up 13.5 per cent in Nova Scotia. Halifax construction activity was up 14.4 per cent. National building construction investment declined 1.2 per cent with four provinces reporting growth over January-April 2018. The fastest growth was reported in Prince Edward Island (+13.7 per cent) followed by Nova Scotia and British Columbia (13.0 per cent). The largest declines over this period were reported in Newfoundland and Labrador (-22.7 per cent) and Manitoba (-17.1 per cent).
Total Nova Scotia building construction investment was $303 million in April. In recent years, Halifax has accounted for a rising share of construction activity in the province, particularly for residential investment. Halifax building construction totaled $178 million in April, while there was $125 million in building construction outside of Halifax.
Residential construction
In April 2019, residential construction investment (seasonally adjusted) in Nova Scotia declined 2.6 per cent to $253 million. Halifax residential construction was up 4.4 per cent to $153 million.
National residential construction rose 3.6 per cent month-to-month. Six provinces reported higher residential construction investment in April. The fastest gains were in Manitoba (+33.7 per cent), while the largest declines were in Saskatchewan (-16.6 per cent) and Prince Edward Island (-13.5 per cent).
Year-to-date, residential construction investment was up 17.9 per cent in Nova Scotia. Halifax's residential construction was up 23.6 per cent compared to January-April 2018.
National residential construction was down 3.8 per cent in the first four months of 2019. Four provinces reported growth for the period, with Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island (+11.0 per cent) reporting the fastest growth. Newfoundland and Labrador reported the largest decline over the same period in 2018 (-41.8 per cent).
Investment in renovations and new construction for multiples accounts for the rise in residential construction activity (unadjusted) observed in the first four months of 2019 in Nova Scotia. New construction is down for single dwelling units. Other residential construction activity (such as conversions) is up significantly in percentage terms, but has contributed less than other residential activities to the overall rise in residential building expenditures so far this year.
Non-residential construction
In April, non-residential building construction declined 2.7 per cent to $51 million in Nova Scotia (seasonally adjusted). Non-residential construction was down 4.7 per cent in Halifax, falling to $25 million.
National non-residential building construction rose 0.3 per cent in April. Six provinces reported monthly gains, with the fastest growth reported in Prince Edward Island (+2.6 per cent) and British Columbia (+2.3 per cent). Nova Scotia reported the largest monthly decline, followed by Alberta (-1.4 per cent).
Year-to-date, Nova Scotia's non-residential construction is down 3.4 per cent compared to the first four months of 2018. Halifax's non-residential construction declined 18.3 per cent year-to-date.
National non-residential construction investment rose 4.7 per cent. The fastest growth was reported in Newfoundland and Labrador (+41.4 per cent) and British Columbia (+28.4 per cent). The fastest declines were reported in Ontario (-7.0 per cent) followed by Saskatchewan (-4.1 per cent).
In Nova Scotia, year-to-date non-residential building construction declines are concentrated in both commercial and institutional/government projects in Halifax. Non-residential construction is up outside of Halifax on gains in industrial, commercial and institutional/government expenditures.
Source: Statistics Canada.
Table 34-10-0175-01 Investment in Building Construction
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