National building permits jump 9% in November.
January 10, 2005 - Builders across the country took out far more building permits than the market was expecting in November, Statistics Canada reported Monday, thanks to broad-based strength in both residential and non-residential construction.
Statscan reported that $5 billion worth of building permits were issued in November, up nine per cent from October.
The consensus among analysts polled by Bloomberg News had been for an increase of only 0.5 per cent following a gain of two per cent in October.
At $5 billion permits were at the second-highest level on record behind the recent high of $5.4 billion reached in June.
The housing market remained strong in November, while the non-residential sector also gained ground for the third straight month.
Non-residential permits were up by almost 21 per cent, to $1.85 billion.
"This level was the second highest during the past 15 years, surpassed only by intentions worth $1.91 billion in June 2004," Statscan said.
Non-residential includes commercial, industrial and institutional projects. Institutional led the charge in November, though the other two also logged gains.
In the residential market, intentions remained strong despite expectations that housing demand is easing due to last fall's interest rate hikes and a healthier ratio between supply and demand.
Housing permits were up by 3.5 per cent from October to $3.1 billion. An increase in demand for permits for multi-family dwellings offset a decrease in permits for costlier single-family homes.
Permits for multi-family dwellings, which includes rowhousing and apartments, jumped by 22 per cent to $1.1 billion. Permits for singles fell 4.7 per cent to $2 billion.
© Copyright Ottawa Business Journal 2005