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July 05, 2022BUILDING PERMITS, MAY 2022 Month over month (seasonally adjusted, May 2022 vs. Apr 2022)
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 7.2% to $253.2 million. Halifax permits decreased 6.0% to $175.5 million. Outside the city, permit values decreased 9.7% to $77.6 million. National permits increased 2.3% to $12.06 billion. Building permit values were up in 5 of 10 provinces, led by New Brunswick and British Columbia. Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador reported the largest declines.
Nova Scotia's residential building permits decreased 8.0% to $201.4 million. Halifax residential permits decreased 7.3% to $137.2 million. Outside the city, residential permit values decreased 9.3% to $64.2 million. National residential building permit values were little changed at $7.77 billion. Residential permit values were down in 7 of 10 provinces, led by Prince Edward Island and Quebec. Ontario and British Columbia reported the largest gains.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permits decreased 4.1% to $51.8 million. Halifax permits decreased 1.2% to $38.4 million. Outside the city, non-residential permit values decreased 11.5% to $13.4 million. National non-residential building permit values increased 7.0% to $4.29 billion. Non-residential permit values were up in 6 of 10 provinces, led by New Brunswick and British Columbia. Newfoundland and Labrador reported the largest decline.
Year-to-date (Jan-May 2022 vs. Jan-May 2021)
Nova Scotia's total building permits (residential and non-residential) increased 31.1% to $1,133.5 million. Halifax permits increased 53.9% to $699.9 million. Outside the city, permit values increased 5.8% to $433.5 million. National permits increased 11.6% to $58.72 billion. Building permit values were up in 9 of 10 provinces, led by British Columbia and Nova Scotia. Prince Edward Island was the only province to report a decline.
Nova Scotia's residential building permits increased 32.3% to $903.6 million. Halifax residential permits increased 50.7% to $551.1 million. Outside the city, residential permit values increased 11.1% to $352.6 million. National residential building permit values increased 3.4% to $38.02 billion. Residential permit values were up in 6 of 10 provinces, led by Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia. Prince Edward Island and Ontario reported the largest declines.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permits increased 26.6% to $229.8 million. Halifax permits increased 67.1% to $148.8 million. Outside the city, non-residential permit values decreased 12.4% to $81.0 million. National non-residential building permit values increased 30.7% to $20.71 billion. Non-residential permit values were up in 8 of 10 provinces, led by British Columbia and New Brunswick. Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island reported declines.
Overall building permit values in Nova Scotia increased in the first five months of 2022 compared with January-May 2021. This reflects an increase in most residential and non-residential permit types across the province, with the exception of institutional/government buildings.
Trends
After declining in early 2020, Nova Scotia's building permits values have grown significantly - starting first with residential construction permits in late 2020 and followed by non-residential permits in late 2021. The rise in residential permits was stronger across province while non-residential permit values in the city accounted for the recent uptick.
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. Since the middle of 2020, both single and multiple dwelling unit permits have trended up - particularly in parts of Nova Scotia outside Halifax.
Non-residential building permits have lower values than residential permits. Halifax non-residential building permits have been increasing since the middle of 2021. Commercial projects generally account for the bulk of non-residential building permit values. Commercial permits in Halifax had an upward trend since June 2021. Commercial project building permit values outside Halifax have been flat in recent months. Industrial building permits have moved downwards in recent months.
Source: Statistics Canada. Table 34-10-0066-01 Building permits, by type of structure and type of work (x 1,000)
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