$2.96 billion in building permits granted
Derrick Penner
Sun
March building permit applications in B.C. jumped more than they had dropped in February.
Builders took out almost $1.1 billion in permits in March, 25.5-per-cent more than the $837 million they took out during a blustery February, which represented a substantial decline, Statistics Canada reported Monday.
And for the first quarter of 2007, builders were granted $2.96 billion worth of permits, about 16-per-cent more than during the same period of 2006.
Helmut Pastrick, chief economist for Credit Union Central B.C., said the increasing value of building permits also reflects inflation in the cost of construction, but even after factoring that in, “there is certainly more real [construction activity, [and] certainly on the non-residential side.”
Most of the building begun during the first quarter of 2007 was residential, with the $1.93 billion in permits issued accounting for 65 per cent of the total.
The $1.03 billion in permits for commercial buildings, factories and schools accounted for 35 per cent.
Housing starts, Pastrick said, appear to have hit a peak and are beginning to slip. “Non-residential is still on an upturn,” Pastrick added. “It’s demand driven.”
“Office vacancy rates are low, retail space rental rates are rising [along with] other commercial leases, hence that will induce more investment and more [commercial-building] space being created.”
Statistics Canada reported that while residential permit values were up in B.C., permits for single-family homes were down slightly. Carol Frketich, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.’s regional economist, said single-detached starts were down 41 per cent in Vancouver, compared with the first part of 2006.
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
