Municipalities issued $6.4 billion worth of building permits in June, down 5.5% from May and 12.9% lower than in June 2015.
Four provinces reported an increase in permits over a year ago. Saskatchewan experienced the largest gain, (+28.0%) followed by Prince Edward Island (+26.5%). The steepest annualized losses occurred in Nova Scotia (-45.9%), Alberta (-41.1%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (-34.5%. Ontario recorded a year-over-year decrease of 10.9% while Quebec posted a 3.6% gain over June 2015.
Builders took out residential building permits worth $4.1 billion in June, down 5.0% from May and 10.6% lower than in June 2015. Nine provinces reported a decline in their annualized growth rate for residential permits. Nova Scotia reported the highest year-over-year downturn (-53.1%) followed by Alberta (-38.8%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (-33.7%). Ontario was the only province to record an annualized gain (+2.7%) while Quebec’s year-over-year loss was 8.9%.
Municipalities issued permits worth $1.7 billion for multi-family dwellings in June down 15.8% from May and 21.4% lower than in June 2015. Lower month-over-month construction intentions for projects were recorded in seven provinces. The largest decreases occurred in Ontario and British Columbia, Permits for single family units amounted to $2.4 billion, up 4.2% from May but 1.1% lower than in June 2015. Monthly increases were reported in seven provinces. Ontario recorded the largest monthly gain.
Municipalities approved 14,960 new dwellings in June, down 8.1% from May but 14.3% higher than in June 2015. There was a 2.7% monthly increase and a 2.7% annualized loss in the number of single-family units, which totaled 5,680. There was a 13.7% monthly decrease and a 20.1% annualized loss in the number of multi-family units approved, which totaled 9,280.
The value of non-residential permits in June fell 6.2% from May to $2.3 billion and decreased 16.7% from June 2015. From May to June, industrial permits declined 8.7% to $346 million and were down 25.8% from June 2015; institutional permits fell 20.6% from May to $664 million and were down 23.2% from a year earlier; while commercial sector permits increased 4.3% from May to $1.3 billion, but were down 9.7% from June 2015. The institutional downturn in June over may came mainly from lower construction intentions for hospitals. The largest provincial decline was in Ontario. The monthly industrial decrease mainly resulted from lower construction intentions for primary industry buildings. Decreases were reported in four provinces, particularly Ontario and Quebec. Commercial construction intention increases occurred in four provinces led by Quebec. The monthly gain came mainly from higher construction intentions for retail and wholesale outlets and for warehouses.