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November 03, 2022BUILDING PERMITS, SEPTEMBER 2022 Month over month (seasonally adjusted, Sep 2022 vs. Aug 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) increased 28.9% to $266.4 million. Halifax permits increased 38.7% to $186.0 million. Outside the city, permit values increased 10.9% to $80.4 million. National permits decreased 17.5% to $10.22 billion. Building permit values were up in 3 of 10 provinces, led by New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Ontario and Prince Edward Island reported the largest declines.
Nova Scotia's residential building permits increased 40.3% to $235.3 million. Halifax residential permits increased 65.9% to $170.9 million. Outside the city, residential permit values decreased 0.5% to $64.4 million. National residential building permit values decreased 15.6% to $7.04 billion. Residential permit values were up in 3 of 10 provinces, led by Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Ontario and Prince Edward Island reported the largest declines.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permits decreased 20.0% to $31.1 million. Halifax permits decreased 51.5% to $15.1 million. Outside the city, non-residential permit values increased 106.2% to $16.0 million. National non-residential building permit values decreased 21.5% to $3.18 billion. Non-residential permit values were up in 3 of 10 provinces, led by Newfoundland and Labrador and British Columbia. Prince Edward Island and Ontario reported the largest declines.
Year-to-date (Jan-Sep 2022 vs. Jan-Sep 2021)
Nova Scotia's total building permits (residential and non-residential) increased 23.9% to $2,019.4 million. Halifax permits increased 38.8% to $1,250.9 million. Outside the city, permit values increased 5.4% to $768.5 million. National permits increased 11.4% to $104.49 billion. Building permit values were up in 8 of 10 provinces, led by British Columbia and Saskatchewan. Manitoba and Prince Edward Island reported declines.
Nova Scotia's residential building permits increased 33.3% to $1,649.8 million. Halifax residential permits increased 50.1% to $1,019.4 million. Outside the city, residential permit values increased 12.8% to $630.4 million. National residential building permit values increased 7.5% to $69.49 billion. Residential permit values were up in 7 of 10 provinces, led by Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia. Manitoba and Prince Edward Island reported the largest declines.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permits decreased 5.8% to $369.5 million. Halifax permits increased 4.2% to $231.5 million. Outside the city, non-residential permit values decreased 18.8% to $138.1 million. National non-residential building permit values increased 20.1% to $35.00 billion. Non-residential permit values were up in 8 of 10 provinces, led by British Columbia and Saskatchewan. Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia reported declines.
Overall building permit values in Nova Scotia increased in the first nine months of 2022 compared with January-September 2021. This reflects an increase in all residential and non-residential permit types across the province, with the exception of institutional/government buildings and industrial buildings in the province.
Trends
Overall building permit values have been on a rising trend since the middle of 2021, mostly driven by the rise in residential permit values (within Halifax as well as outside the city). After growing at the end of 2021, Nova Scotia's non-residential building permit values have trended down since the beginning of 2022. Non-residential permit values have trended down in 2022 for Halifax as well as for the rest of the province.
Trends in residential permit values reflect the differences in housing markets for Halifax and the rest of the province. In Halifax, growth in permit values for multi-unit dwellings has outpaced growth in single-dwelling unit permits. Outside the city the situation is reversed, with stronger growth in single dwelling unit permit values than in multi-unit structures.
Non-residential building permits have lower values than residential permits. After rising in late 2021, values for Halifax commercial building permits have stabilized while Halifax industrial permits have declined. Outside the city, permits are trending down in 2022 for all three categories of non-residential building: commercial, industrial and government/institutional.
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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