February 8, 2010

By the numbers

B.C. permit numbers rise while Alberta’s fall

Richard Gilbert

staff writer

The value of building permits in British Columbia increased in November, while Alberta had a significant decrease.

Statistics Canada reported that building permit values in B.C. jumped 15.6 per cent to $776 million in November 2009 compared to the previous month.

The increase was the result of both the non-residential sector, which rose 25 per cent to $240 million and the residential sector, which went up by 12 per cent to $535 million.

“It’s encouraging to see the numbers of building permits rising over this time last year, especially in residential construction,” said Philip Hochstein, president of Independent Contractors and Businesses Association.

“Residential construction is the first step that drives increases in industrial, commercial and institutional building, so this small upswing will hopefully lead to more investment in construction to speed the economic recovery.”

The total value of building permits in the Lower Mainland-Southwest region increased by 27 per cent and reached $520.6 million in November.

Non-residential permits jumped 90 per cent and residential permits increased by six per cent in the same period.

In Vancouver, the total value of building permits increased by 40 per cent in November to $484 million.

“While residential permits posted only a moderate increase in November, this sector is largely behind the overarching uptrend in total building permits,” explained Keith Sashaw president of the Vancouver Regional Construction Association.

In contrast, total building permit values in the Lower Mainland-Southwest region are down 38 per cent to $3.8 billion compared to November 2008.

This drop was driven by a 39 per cent decline in residential permits, as the sector gradually recovers from the all-time low of January 2009.

Non-residential permits are down 36 per cent to $1.5 billion in the same period.

“The outlook for non-residential permits is mixed,” said Sashaw.

“More government spending under fiscal stimulus efforts should result in higher permits and provide some offset to the lower non-residential spending in the private sector.”

The value of building permits in Alberta decreased by 23 per cent to $1.1 billion in November compared to October.

The decrease was driven by a large fall in the non-residential sector, which went down by 40 per cent to $490 million.

Construction intentions in the non-residential sector decreased by two per cent to $623 million.

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