Housing Intentions in Ontario Lead Overall Gains in Residential Sector for January 2024
April 8, 2024
Month over month, the total value of building permits in Canada rose 13.5% in January to $10.8 billion, rebounding after a decrease of 11.5% in December. The residential sector increased 12.6% to $6.5 billion in January, while the non-residential sector grew 14.8% to $4.2 billion.
On a constant dollar basis (2017=100), the total value of building permits was up 14.0% to $6.7 billion in January.
Housing intentions in Ontario lead overall gains in residential sector
The total monthly value of residential permits increased 12.6% to $6.5 billion in January, following a weak December.
Gains in the residential sector in January were led by a strong rebound in multi-unit construction intentions (+35.1% to $4.0 billion), and Ontario (+29.1% to $1.4 billion) led this increase. Specifically, multi-unit permits were concentrated in the census metropolitan areas of Toronto, Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo and London. Quebec (+61.6%; +$244.7 million) and British Columbia (+36.7%; +$281.9 million) also posted notable gains in multi-unit permit values.
The overall residential growth in January was tempered by a decline in the total value of single-family dwelling permits (-10.3% to $2.6 billion), with declines occurring in nine provinces.
Across Canada, 15,200 new dwellings in multi-unit buildings and 4,000 new single-family dwellings were authorized in January.
Commercial projects in Quebec spark non-residential growth
The total monthly value of non-residential permits increased 14.8% to $4.2 billion in January, following a 4.0% decline in December.
The growth was attributed to the commercial component, which increased 34.5% to $2.3 billion, the highest monthly level recorded since April 2023. A $200 million permit for a new data centre in Lévis, Quebec, greatly contributed to the growth observed in January 2024.
Go HERE for more information
