New building permit values drop in Alberta, StatsCan says

The value of building permits in Alberta plunged by more than 10 per cent in April, according to a new report from Statistics Canada.

Overall, the country saw a 0.2 per cent decline from March, driven primarily by significant decreases in Alberta and Ontario. Ontario's $2.9-billion in new construction permits was a7.6 per cent drop over the previous month.

In Alberta, the $992 million in new residential and non-residential building permits issued in April was a 10.8 per cent decrease from March.

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The valueof residential building permits dropped by 6.6 per cent in April, while non-residential fell by 17.7 per cent. The value of residential permits across Canada decreased by 2.5 per cent, while non-residential grew by 4.1 per cent.

According to the report, Alberta's decline wasled by lower construction intentions forapartment buildings and industrial structures.

"The decrease was moderated by the single-family component, which posted a fourth consecutive monthly gain in April," reads the report.

Calgary was the harder hit of Alberta's major cities, with building permit values dropping by nearly 25 per cent in April and nearly 50 per cent over the last year.

While Edmonton did see an 8.8 per cent decrease from March to April, over the last year Alberta's capital saw an overall increase of 3.5 per cent.

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