What happened: Greater Vancouver municipalities issued $800 million in building permits this February.
Why it matters: That figure, which signals builders’ construction intentions, was down 20.5% over January.
After three consecutive months of more than $1 billion in building permits issued, the value of green-lit permits in Greater Vancouver fell by 20.5%.
Statistics Canada said municipalities in the region issued $800 million in permits this February. It’s a 43% drop over December, when Greater Vancouver issued $1.4 billion in permits – the equivalent of the total value of permits issued in British Columbia two months ago.
Year over year, Greater Vancouver permits were down 22% on a seasonally adjusted basis. They were down 4.8% over February 2017.
Lower building intentions for multi-family developments weighed down B.C.’s overall performance.
February saw 21% fewer residential permits issued compared to January, which registered as a 21.8% drop year over year.
Non-residential permits were up 15.4% month to month and up 21.8% over February 2018.
The net result was an 11.5% drop in permit values on a monthly basis, and a near 11% decline on an annual one.
