The value of Canadian building permits saw its biggest increase in six months in March, helped by a gain in construction intentions for multi-family homes in Ontario and British Columbia, that word this morning from Statistics Canada.
The value of permits issued for the month jumped 11.6% to $6.87 billion, handily topping economists’ forecasts for a gain of 2.5%.
The agency added that March's was the first increase in three months and provided the biggest gain since last September.
The value of non-residential permits climbed 22.1% with increases seen in several provinces, including British Columbia and Alberta. Construction intentions were higher for a variety of institutional and commercial buildings.
Residential permits rose 6.6%, driven by a 19.6% rise in plans for multifamily buildings, which includes primarily apartments and condominiums. Construction plans for single-family homes slipped 3.4%, down for the second month in a row, with oil-sensitive Alberta seeing the largest drop.
