Canada December building permits +11.0% vs +1.7% expected

• Prior was -5.9% (revised to -5.6%)
• The increase was led by a 21.2% increase in the residential sector, largely due to gains in Ontario and British Columbia.
• Multi-unit residential +33.3%
• Single-family homes +1.8%
• Non-residential permits fell 5.9% for third consecutive decline

The Canadian construction pipeline continues to churn out construction though much of it was filled way back in 2022. There’s some volatility in the data but for Q4, permits were up 1.2% with residential construction up 8.0%. The housing market in Canada is increasingly fragmented with some of the less-expensive areas doing well while the expensive housing in Ontario is slowing rapidly.

Non-residential permits fell 9.3% in Q4 but that came after a record high in Q3.

In the year as a whole, building permits rose 7.8% in 2024 with the residential sector up 6.3%. Underneath the surface, it’s been driving by condos in the pipeline from 2022 while single-family construction fell 30.9%.

This article was written by Adam Button at www.forexlive.com.