Province
January was a quieter month for B.C. municipalities as construction plans slowed in the province, according to a Statistics Canada report released yesterday.
Across the province, municipalities issued a total 27 per cent fewer building permits worth $762 million in January compared to December, 2005. Residential permits were down 33 per cent and non-residential permits dropped by 10.7 per cent, the report said.
Despite the decline, B.C. building permits increased 14 per cent in January compared to the same month last year.
Nationally, building plans eased in January after record levels set late last year. Municipalities issued $5.1 billion in permits, down 19.3 per cent from December, it said.
In the residential sector, contractors took out $3.5 billion in permits in January, down 21.4 per cent from the previous month, mainly the result of a decline in multi-family permits issued for the Greater Toronto area.
Permits declined for both residential and non-residential projects, although StatsCan noted a 2.9-per-cent rise in single-family home construction plans.
The value of single-family permits reached new records in B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan as well as in Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia.
In the non-residential sector, building permits dropped 14.3 per cent to $1.6 billion, which is the lowest level since January, 2005.
© The Vancouver Province 2006
