Value of building permits up 1.8% in July

The value of building permits rose 1.8 per cent to $6.4 billion in July, mainly due to multi-family dwelling permits in Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba and industrial construction plans in Saskatchewan, Statistics Canadasaid Monday.

The value of building permits in the residential sector rose 2.7 per cent to $3.7 billion, while the value of permits in the non-residential sector edged up 0.6 per cent to $2.7 billion.

An increase in industrial construction intentions more than offset declines in both commercial and institutional permits.

Municipalities issued $1.5 billion worth of permits for multi-family housing in July, up 9.6 per cent from June. That followed two straight monthly declines.

At the same time, single-family permits dropped 1.4 per cent to $2.2 billion, with Ontario accounting for more than half of the decline.

Municipalities approved 19,518 new residential dwellings in July, up 12 per cent.

The value of industrial permits rose 26.3 per cent to $503 million, following a 29.4 per cent decline in June. The increase was mainly due to permits for mining buildings in Saskatchewan.

Construction intentions for commercial buildings declined 3.7 per cent to $1.5 billion.

After three straight monthly increases, the value of institutional permits dropped four per cent to $759 million, mainly due to fewer permits for health buildings in Ontario, Alberta and Quebec.

The value of building permits increased inSaskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Declines were registered in British Columbia, Alberta, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.