Multi-Unit Component Weighs on Investment for February Building Construction Investment

April 22, 2024

Month over month, investment in building construction declined 1.1% to $19.3 billion in February. Investment in the residential sector decreased 1.2% to $13.4 billion, while investment in the non-residential sector fell 0.9% to $6.0 billion.

On a constant dollar basis (2017=100), investment in building construction fell 1.2% to $11.9 billion in February, following a flat (+0.0%) movement in the previous month.

Multi-unit component weighs on investment

Investment in residential building construction decreased $157 million (-1.2%) to $13.4 billion in February, marking the second monthly decline in a row. The monthly decline in February was led by Ontario (-$153 million to $5.2 billion). Meanwhile, investment in residential building construction edged up in six provinces, led by Newfoundland and Labrador (+$16 million to $78 million).

Nationally, investment in detached single-family homes increased 1.3% to $6.7 billion in February, with all provinces and territories apart from Yukon reporting gains for this component. At the same time, multi-unit investment decreased 3.5% to $6.7 billion in February, driven by declines in Ontario (-6.0% to $2.6 billion) and Quebec (-4.9% to $1.2 billion) as the pace of new starts slowed from earlier in 2023.

Non-residential investment declines

Investment in the non-residential sector decreased by $52 million (-0.9%) to $6.0 billion in February, as gains in the institutional component (+$29 million to $1.7 billion) were outweighed by declines in industrial (-$4 million to $1.3 billion) and commercial (-$77 million to $3.0 billion) investment.

The decline in commercial investment for February represented the eighth consecutive monthly decline, with seven provinces contributing to the negative movement.

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