The value of building permits in B.C. plummeted in April, according to Statistics Canada data released Thursday.
Total building permit values fell 36.5% to $379.7 million from $597.5 million in March.
Much of the decline was in non-residential building permits, which fell 63.1% to $132.7 million from $359.9 million. However, the value of residential building permits in B.C. rose 4% to $247 million from $237.6 million.
Victoria saw the biggest decline in B.C. in April. Permit values fell 82.4% to $28.2 million from $159.8 million in March. Permit values dropped 78.8% in Abbotsford to $5.7 million from $26.7 million and 57.9% in Kelowna to $16.3 million from $38.7 million.
Vancouver permit values decreased 15.3% to $172 million from $203.2 million.
Nationally, contractors took out $4.3 billion in building permits in April, down 5.4% from March. Much of that decline came from a 14.4% drop in non-residential permits, which offset a 4.1% increase in residential permits.