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April 25, 2025BUILDING CONSTRUCTION PRICE INDEX, Q1 2025 Halifax's residential building construction prices increased by 3.0% from Q1 2024 to Q1 2025. Across Canada, residential building construction costs were up by 3.4% as well. Among the 15 major urban centres reported, Victoria, Calgary and Regina reported the fastest rise in building construction prices. Moncton and Toronto reported the slowest increases in residential building construction costs.
In the last quarter of data, Halifax's year-over-year construction costs growth continued to slow for most categories of residential structure. Building construction costs growth was similar for all categories: high-rise apartment buildings (+3.1%), single-detached dwellings (+3.0%), low-rise apartment buildings (+2.7%) and townhouses (+2.6%).
Non-residential building cost inflation is generally slower than residential building cost inflation. Overall non-residential building costs were up 1.3% in Halifax from Q1 2024 to Q1 2025, this was tied with St. John's for the slowest growth in non-residential construction costs among major cities. Across the 15 major Census Metropolitan Areas, overall non-residential building construction costs grew 3.5%. London reported the fastest year-over-year growth in non-residential building construction costs.
In Halifax, the pace of building cost inflation slowed for all categories of non-residential structure: schools (+1.6%), office buildings (+1.5%). warehouses (+1.4%), factories (+1.3%), shopping centres (+1.2%) and bus depot/repair buildings (+0.9%).
Among components of building costs, residential construction inflation is up most for: concrete, and structural steel framing.
Non-residential building construction costs grew most rapidly for integrated automation and communications.
There were no cost components in residential and non-residential building construction that reported price declines over the last year.
Statistics Canada Notes on the Building Construction Price Index: The building construction price indexes are quarterly series that measure the change over time in the prices that contractors charge to construct a range of commercial, institutional, industrial and residential buildings in 15 census metropolitan areas: St. John's, Halifax, Moncton, Québec City, Montréal, Ottawa–Gatineau (Ontario part), Toronto, London, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and Victoria.
These buildings include six non-residential structures: an office building, a warehouse, a shopping centre, a factory, a school, and a bus depot with maintenance and repair facilities. In addition, indexes are produced for five residential structures: a bungalow, a two-storey house, a townhouse, a high-rise apartment building (five storeys or more) and a low-rise apartment building (fewer than five storeys).
The contractor's price reflects the value of all materials, labour, equipment, overhead and profit to construct a new building. It excludes value-added taxes and any costs for land, land assembly, building design, land development and real estate fees.
With each release, data for the previous quarter may have been revised. The index is not seasonally adjusted.
Source: Statistics Canada. Table 18-10-0289-01 Building construction price indexes, by type of building and division