According to Statistics Canada, prices for construction of residential buildings increased 0.6 percent in the second quarter of 2019, while the cost of construction of non-residential buildings was up 0.4 percent.
On a quarterly basis, the rise in construction costs of residential and non-residential buildings in Montréal and Toronto was the main contributor to the overall increases in both types of building.
Prices for structural steel framing and concrete products were the main drivers of the price increases in Montréal and Toronto. Although prices are still high for those two types of products, the increases have been slowing over the last few quarters. These quarterly increases can be observed in most of the buildings surveyed in those two census metropolitan areas (CMAs).
Prices charged by contractors for residential (+2.7 percent) and non-residential (+3.9 percent) building construction were up over the 12-month period ending in the second quarter. On an annual basis, construction costs for both types of building rose the most in Ottawa (+5.2 percent for residential buildings and +5.7 percent for non-residential buildings) and in Vancouver (+4.8 percent for residential buildings and +5.1 percent for non-residential buildings).