The value of building permits issued in the Lower Mainland increased year-over-year in February, but were down compared with January, according to Statistics Canada data released April 8.
Building permits in February were $512 million in the city. This is an increase of 3.9% compared with one year ago, but down almost 18% compared with January, when permits were valued at $622 million.
Almost 60% of these permits related to residential intentions, and 34% were commercial. The remainder was comprised of industrial and institutional/government.
Across British Columbia, permits increased 10% compared with February 2013 to $766 million. The balance of this increase was due to non-residential permits, which grew 31%. Residential permits increased by just under 1% over the month. Compared with January, however, B.C. permits were down almost 16%.
Building intentions across Canada also grew compared with one year ago (up 3.8% to $6.1 billion) and were down compared with January (down 11.6%).
The provinces with the biggest drops between January and February were:
- Newfoundland and Labrador (down 51%);
- Manitoba (down 34%); and
- Alberta (down 28%).
Prince Edward Island saw the biggest increase, with building intentions jumping almost 51%.
