According to Statistics Canada, the value of investment in new residential building construction rose 4.3 percent year over year to $4.7 billion in October, following a 4.8 percent gain the previous month.
The increase at the national level was mainly attributable to higher construction spending on apartment and apartment-condominium buildings, which offset declines in investment related to single-family and semi-detached dwelling construction.
Investment in apartment and apartment-condominium building construction rose 27.6 percent to $1.8 billion in October compared with the same month in 2014. This was the sixth consecutive double-digit advance. Spending on row house construction increased 2.1 percent from October 2014 to $438 million.
Investment in single-family dwelling construction declined for the fifth consecutive month year over year, down 6.9 percent to $2.2 billion in October. Spending on double house construction continued a downward trend that started earlier in the spring, declining 15.1 percent from the same month a year earlier to $220 million in October.