July 2006

The value of building permits declined in July, the primary result of a drop in the number of industrial intentions. Building permits were down 2.3% from June's numbers.

The residential sector however continued it's increase with $3.4 billion dollars worth of building permits including $2.2+ billion single family, and $1.1 billion multi-family permits.

The value of building permits for single-family dwellings increased by 4.6% while the value of building permits for multi-family was up 8.5%.

The largest contributor to the increase in housing starts was Alberta. If Alberta was excluded, housing start would have remained virtually unchanged.

While the value of building permits are down from the peaks reached in December 2005, and in the first quarter of 2006, it still remains high from a historical standpoint.

The August building permit numbers are expected to be released on October 5, 2006.

Previous release on building permits.

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