Permits issued by Canadian municipalities for residential buildings increased slightly in September.
Statistics Canada reports that there were $4.9 billion worth of permits issued, up 0.3% from August and the first increased in four months.
The rise was largely due to increased intentions for multifamily buildings which saw a 1.5% increase to $2.7 billion. Meanwhile, single-family building permits totalled $2.2 billion, down 1.2% and the fourth monthly decrease for this sector.
Quebec accounted for much of the increase in multifamily intentions with a 49% surge from the previous month to a total $752 million. There was also a 25.4% increase in overall permits in the province (including non-residential), totalling $1.8 billion – a new record high.
Newfoundland and Labrador also posted a notable rise in permits, with a 105% jump to $105 million, a 4-year-high. This was largely driven by demand for cannabis processing facilities.
Permits by property type
For single-family intentions there was a decrease in four provinces led by Ontario and Alberta.
Municipalities approved the construction of 19,073 new dwellings in September, up 7.8% from August. The increase was attributable to both single-family (+3.3%) and multi-family (+9.4%) dwellings.
For non-residential buildings permits nationwide were up 0.6% to $3.1 billion with institutional buildings leading the demand (up 16.4%) while commercial building permits were down 3.3%.
Overall, the value of permits issued in September across all property types totalled $8.1 billion, up 0.4% from August.
