Non-residential permits up 61.7 per cent in May, Statistics Canada reports
Derrick Penner
Sun
British Columbia’s construction sector continued to boom in May, Statistics Canada reported Thursday, with contractors in Greater Vancouver, particularly on the non-residential construction front, leading the way.
Contractors across the province took out building permits worth $961 million in May, a 16-per-cent gain over the previous month.
Residential construction activity in May, at $582 million, was down almost two per cent from April, however non-residential permits were up a whopping 61.7 per cent from the month before at $378.4 million.
From January to the end of May, the $4.5 billion in permits taken out by builders is 13.2 per cent higher than the same period in 2005.
Nationwide, Statistics Canada said the value of building permits issued in May hit $5.4 billion, which was a 6.9-per-cent increase from April and was the sixth straight month that permits were over $5 billion.
Keith Sashaw, president of the Vancouver Regional Construction Association, said the May results for Greater Vancouver were what he expected they would be.
Statistics Canada reported that Vancouver saw $508.6 million worth of building permits issued in May, a 25-per-cent increase over April. The $2.4 billion in permits issued between January and May was up 11.3 per cent over the same period a year ago.
“That continues a trend we’ve seen for over a year now and expect to continue to see for some time to come,” Sashaw said.
The VRCA’s analysis of the Statistics Canada report found that permits for 2,009 new dwelling units were issued in May, which was up 41 per cent from April. Their value, at $335 million, was up 20 per cent from the previous month.
Vancouver’s non-residential permits hit $173.5 million in May, up 36 per cent from April.
Sashaw said he expects growth in the residential results to level off toward the end of 2006 because the demand for new housing will be closer to being met and rising prices will make housing less affordable for more people.
However, he believes demand for non-residential buildings is only “half-way up the curve.”
“We’ve still got quite a bit of strength left and we will continue to see it grow into 2007 and 2008 if not longer,” Sashaw said.
Sashaw added that an easing of housing markets in the United States and around the world should help to slow down the dramatic rise of construction costs in B.C. However, he still expects construction costs to rise about 12 per cent this year.
The city of Abbotsford’s own building-permit statistics differ from Statistics Canada’s report. Jay Teichroeb, Abbotsford’s manager of economic development said he couldn’t pinpoint why.
However, he said the city’s figures show continued growth in the region’s construction sector with $41 million in building permits issued in May, up 1.4 per cent from April.
“With the projects that are in the pipeline, we’re not seeing the leading edge of a slowdown,” Teichroeb said.
“If anything, we’re seeing larger and more ambitious projects,” he added, such as an increasing number of highrise apartment towers being proposed by developers drawn to the Fraser Valley by the availability of relatively lower-cost land.
CONSTRUCTION UPSWING
B.C.’s building boom continued in May as evidenced by the growth in building permits issued by municipalities.
British Columbia
Total
May: $961 million
+16.1% over April
Jan. – May: $4.55 billion +13.2% over 2005
Residential
May: $582.6 million
-1.8% from April
Jan. – May:$3 billion
+12% over 2005
Non-residential
May: $378.4 million
+62% over April
Jan. – May:$1.6 billion
+16% over 2005
Source: Statistics Canada
© The Vancouver Sun 2006
