Statistics released Monday show that Canadian contractors took out approximately $8 billion in building permits in July 2013, reflecting a 20.7 percent increase from levels seen in June. This marks the sixth gain in the past seven months.
In the non-residential sector, the total value of building permits rose 45.5 percent to $3.9 billion in July.
Following a 12.8 percent decline in June, the total value of permits in the residential sector increased 4.1 percent to $4.1 billion in July.
Canadian municipalities issued $2.6 billion worth of commercial building permits in July, up 89.2 percent from June. This increase was the result of higher
construction intentions for a variety of commercial buildings, including office buildings, retail complexes and recreational facilities.
After decreasing 27.9 percent in June, the total value of industrial building permits rose 11.6 percent to $505 million in July.
In the institutional component, the value of permits fell 6.5 percent to $791 million in July. This was the third decrease in four months
Construction intentions for single-family dwellings rose 4.1 percent in July to $2.2 billion. The increase in July failed to offset the decline in June.
Building permits for multi-family dwellings rose 4.2 percent to $1.9 billion in July. The gain in July was the fourth increase in five months.
Lastly, Canadian municipalities authorized the
construction of 17,504 new dwellings, 0.7 percent less than in June. The decrease was attributable to multi-family dwellings, which fell 3.0 percent to 11,193 units. Single-family dwellings increased 3.7 percent to 6,311 units.