Municipalities issued $7.1 billion worth of building permits in September, down 6.7% from August and 6.0% lower than in September 2014.
Three provinces reported an increase in permits over a year ago. Saskatchewan recorded a 113.2% year-over-year gain while Prince Edward Island posted a 34.5% increase. The largest annualized losses occurred in Newfoundland and Labrador (-37.0%) and New Brunswick (-28.1%). Ontario reported a 17.1% loss, while the year over-year decline in Quebec was 11.7%.
Builders took out residential building permits worth $4.2 billion in September, down 11.6% from August and 6.2% lower than in September 2014. Four provinces reported an annualized growth rate for residential permits: Prince Edward Island led the way (+18.6%) followed by Manitoba (+15.4%) and Nova Scotia (+12.2%). Double-digit annualized decreases occurred in five provinces with the steepest declines occurring in Saskatchewan (-41.3%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (-26.5%). Quebec’s year-over-year decline was 13.2%, while Ontario’s downturn was 1.0%.
Municipalities issued permits worth $1.8 billion for multi-family dwellings in September, down 20.0% from August and 9.5% lower than in September 2014. Lower month-over-month construction intentions for projects in Ontario were mainly responsible. The largest gains were reported in Manitoba and Alberta. Permits for single family units amounted to $2.3 billion, down 3.7% from August, and 3.3% lower than in September 2014. Ontario accounted for most of the decline, while the largest monthly advances were posted in Quebec and Alberta.
Municipalities approved 16,907 new dwellings in September, down 9.4% from August and 8.3% higher than in September 2014. There was a 4.8% monthly decrease and an 11.4% annualized loss in the number of single-family units, which totaled 5,672. There was an 11.6% monthly decline and a 6.7% annualized decrease in the number of multi-family units approved, which totaled 11,235.
The value of non-residential permits in September grew 1.6% from August to $2.9 billion but decreased 5.9% from September 2014. From August to September, industrial permits gained 16.3% to $550 million and were up 16.2% from September 2014; institutional permits gained 15.6% from August to $744 million but were down 17.9% from a year earlier; while commercial sector permits lost 7.8% from August to $1.6 billion, and were down 5.6% from September 2014. The monthly institutional upswing came mainly from increased construction intentions for medical facilities,, primarily in Ontario and Saskatchewan. Alberta and British Columbia posted the largest losses. The monthly industrial increase mainly resulted from higher construction intentions for utilities and transportation buildings, mainly in Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia. Commercial construction decreases occurred in three provinces, primarily Ontario. The largest increases were in Alberta and Saskatchewan.