Lower spending on recreational properties and office buildings in B.C. drove a small decline in the province’s non-residential real estate investment for the first quarter of 2011, according to a Statistics Canada report released today.
Nationally, non-residential investment was up 1.3% to $10.7 billion from the previous quarter, led by gains in Ontario and Quebec.
B.C.’s non-residential investment dropped by 0.1% to $1.137 billion relative to the previous quarter, with a 2.6% drop in industrial investment and a 2.4% drop in commercial investment. Institutional investment increased by 4.3%.
B.C.’s first quarter of 2011 represented a 5.3% drop in non-residential investment year over year, reflecting a 10.1% drop in commercial investment.
Vancouver’s non-residential investment fell by 0.6% from the previous quarter to $610 million, but was up by 0.1% year over year.
Victoria’s non-residential investment dropped by 1% from the previous quarter to $109 million, but was down 24.1% year over year.
Abbotsford-Mission’s non-residential investment rose by 66.9% from the previous quarter to $28 million, constituting a 1.3% year-over-year gain.
Non-residential investment in Kelowna dropped 14.6% to $89 million, representing a 28.4% year-over-year drop.