Statistics
Canada reported on Tuesday that the value of building permits issued by Canadian municipalities plunged by 14.0 per cent m-o-m in December 2023,
following a downwardly revised 5.0 per cent m-o-m drop (from -3.9 per cent
m-o-m) in November. This represented the steepest fall since April 2023 (-20.3
per cent m-o-m).
Economists had foreseen
a 1.8 per cent increase in December from the previous month.
According to
the report, the value of residential building permits plummeted 17.9 per cent m-o-m
in December, reflecting a 31.1 per cent m-o-m tumble in permits for
multi-family dwellings (the sharpest on record) that was partially offset by a 0.8
per cent m-o-m gain in single-family permits. Meanwhile, the value of non-residential permits declined 7.0
per cent m-o-m in December, as a 28.4 per cent
m-o-m drop in institutional
permits more than offset a 4.7 per
cent m-o-m jump in industrial permits and a 4.1 per cent m-o-m climb in
commercial permits.
In y-o-y terms,
building permits fell 14.5 per cent in December.
In the fourth
quarter, the total value of building permits decreased by 9.0 per cent q-o-q to
CAD31.3 billion, the lowest level since the third quarter of 2021 (CAD 30.8
billion) as the non-residential sector declined by 13.3 per cent q-o-q and the
residential sector dropped a 6.3 per cent q-o-q.
In 2023, the total
current dollar value of building permits fell 3.2% y-o-y to CAD132.2 billion.