Canada Building Permits Fell 3.1% in October — Update
2024-12-12
Category: economic

By Paul Vieira
OTTAWA--Canadian building permits fell in October, following an 11.5% gain in the prior month. Even with the month-over-month drop, the total value of permits in October was the fourth-highest on record.
The total value of building permits declined 3.1% from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted 12.61 billion Canadian dollars, or the equivalent of $8.91 billion, Statistics Canada said Thursday. Market expectations weren't immediately available.
On a year-over-year basis, the overall value of permits issued in October jumped by a robust 11.6%.
The data agency added that when adjusted for inflation, building permits in October fell by a steeper 3.6% from the prior month, and climbed 8.1% from a year ago.
Building permits provide an early indication of construction activity in Canada and are based on a survey of 2,400 municipalities, representing 95% of the country's population. The issuance of a permit doesn't guarantee that construction is imminent.
Permits issued for the nonresidential sector - which incorporates buildings for manufacturing, healthcare and shopping malls - fell 11% in October, to C$4.68 billion.
Offsetting the drop in nonresidential buildings was a 2.3% gain in the value of permits for the residential sector, to C$7.93 billion.
In terms of actual permits, the data agency said 21,300 new multifamily dwellings and 4,900 single-family dwellings were authorized in October, or a 6.7% rise from September. Canadian officials have implemented tax and spending measures to accelerate the pace of home construction in the country, acknowledging that home building has not kept pace with immigration-fueled population growth.
Recent economic data and regional real-estate figures indicate that housing activity is picking up steam in Canada, following a series of interest-rate cuts from the Bank of Canada. The central bank cut its benchmark rate by another half-point this week to 3.25% - the fifth straight rate reduction for a cumulative 1.75 percentage points of relief.
Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com