According to Statistics Canada, municipalities issued building permits worth $6.4 billion in January, a decline of 9.8 percent from the previous month. This decline followed a 7.7 percent increase in December.
The value of residential building permits fell 12.5 percent to $4.0 billion in January, following an 11.5 percent increase the previous month. Municipalities issued $2.4 billion worth of non-residential building permits in January, down 4.8 percent from a month earlier.
The value of permits for multi-family dwellings fell 21.0 percent to $1.8 billion in January, following a 27.7 percent gain in December. Construction intentions for single-family dwellings were down 4.1 percent to $2.2 billion in January. The value was fairly stable at around $2.3 billion for the last four months.
Municipalities approved the construction of 15,704 new dwellings in January, down 13.2 percent from the previous month. The decline mainly resulted from multi-family dwellings, which fell 18.4 percent to 10,194 new units. Single-family dwellings were down 1.8 percent to 5,510 new units.
Institutional construction intentions were down 20.2 percent to $573 million in January, the third consecutive monthly decline. Lower construction intentions for educational institutions, nursing homes and other government buildings accounted for the majority of the decline.
The value of commercial permits fell 7.1 percent to $1.3 billion in January, following a 12.5 percent increase in December. Lower construction intentions for retail complexes and storage buildings accounted for the majority of the decline.
Industrial construction intentions were up 30.6 percent to $521 million in January, following a decline of 12.9 percent in December. The advance at the national level was largely the result of higher construction intentions for maintenance and transportation-related buildings.