Investment in residential building construction soars in December 2020

Investments in residential construction recorded a record month in December 2020 and record fourth quarter. The ICI sectors all saw declines over the same period.

In the latest data released from Statistics Canada, the total investment in building construction across all sectors increased 1.5% in December, this comes following three consecutive months of investment declines. The greatest growth was seen in investment in the residential sector, which rose almost 2% and reached a record high of $11.1 billion.

For December 2020, non-residential construction investment remained relatively unchanged at $4.4 billion for the third consecutive month. Ontario reported the largest gain—up 2.0% from November—but that growth was offset by declines in five provinces.

The new record high in residential construction investment saw eight provinces posting gains, with Ontario (+2.8%), Quebec (+3.1%) and Alberta (+4.6%) accounting for the majority of the growth. Newfoundland and Labrador posted a decline for the second straight month resulting from high-value renovation projects coming to a close.

In the residential sector, single-unit investment continued to show strength for the third straight month, up 2.6%, and nationally, multi-unit investment increased 1.2%.

Notable growth was reported in Ontario and B.C., attributable primarily to condominium and apartment building construction.

Fourth Quarter Results

The total value of investment in building construction edged up 0.3% to $46.2 billion in the fourth quarter, driven by gains in the residential sector (+5.0%), while the ICI sectors all showed declines [commercial (-13.4%), industrial (-6.4%) and institutional (-3.2%)].

For the final quarter of the year, investment in residential buildings reported a record, with both single-unit (+7.9%) and multi-unit (+2.2%) investment posting gains.