Metro Vancouver saw building intentions drop by 32.9% in August compared with July, Statistics Canada announced October 7.
The total value of new building permits issued in the region was $483.5 million in August, compared with $720.5 million in July.
Year-over-year, the city saw a 16.9% decline in permits, from $581.5 million a year ago.
Total building permits issued in British Columbia in August were $799.8 million, down from $1.11 billion a month before. Intentions dropped in both residential, down 20.7%, and non-residential construction, down 43.3%.
Across the country, after three months of increases, the value of building permits issued dropped 27.3% to $6.65 billion, down from $9.15 billion in July.
Nick Exarhos of CIBC World Markets Economics said this drop was much higher than analysts’ expectations of a 6.5% decline.
Non-residential construction intentions in Quebec and residential permits in Ontario led the decline.
Nationwide permits in the residential sector fell 15.9% to $4.15 billion, after five consecutive monthly increases. The non-residential sector saw a drop of 40.6% to $2.5 billion, from $4.21 billion in July.
Year-over-year, the value of permits issued across Canada increased by 2.4%.
“Residential permits are now back at levels seen since early 2012,” Exarhos said. “All told, permit data isn’t usually a market-mover, and we wouldn’t expect much reaction.
