The value of Vancouver’s building permits in July slid 1.3% from the previous month to $520.9 million, while Victoria’s building permit value plummeted 32.3% to $60.4 million, according to numbers released this morning by Statistics Canada.
Year over year, Vancouver’s July construction intentions were up 5.1% and Victoria’s were up 4.8%.
Building intentions throughout B.C. dropped 8.1% in July from the previous month, to $816.1 million. Provincially, the value of residential building permits was down 17.1% for the month, while non-residential permits were up 11.4%.
Year over year, B.C.’s building intentions were down by 5.5%, led by an 11.3% drop in non-residential building permits.
Nationally, building permits were up 6.3% in July over June. The $7 billion July value matched a record high set in May 2007. Advances in multi-family dwelling permits in Ontario drove much of the increase.
Quebec saw the largest monthly decline in July, dropping 19.3% after two months of gains.
Across Canada, it was the third consecutive monthly increase in permits, led by Ontario.
Year over year, Canada’s building intentions were up 11.6% in July, led by a 26.1% increase in residential building intentions.
The building permits survey covers 2,400 municipalities representing 95% of the population.
Jenny Wagler
Twitter: JennyWagler_BIV