Summertime Decline in Building Construction Investment
October 13, 2021 | By HPAC Magazine
Canada-wide investment in building construction decreased 2% to $17.7 billion in August 2021, a fourth consecutive monthly decline.
According to the latest data from Statistics Canada, investment in building construction decreased 2.0% to $17.7 billion in August 2021, a fourth consecutive monthly decline.
Residential construction investment was down 2.9% for the month with declines in every province except for a slight increase in Nova Scotia, while investment in non-residential construction was virtually unchanged.
Investment in single family homes was down 2.6% to $7 billion, with Quebec, Ontario and B.C. posting the largest declines. Despite a fourth consecutive monthly decrease after hitting a peak in April, single unit construction was still 25.6% higher than a year earlier.
Multi-unit construction investment declined in all provinces, down 3.3% nationally to $6.0 billion in August.
Year-over-year changes for new residential construction in the month of August show double-digit increases in all but the semi-detached homes category.
In the non-residential sectors, institutional investment posted a 10th consecutive monthly increase (+1.8% to $1.3 billion), driven by gains in Ontario (+4.3%) and Quebec (+2.2%). This was the highest level of investment in institutional construction since March 2012.
Commercial investment was mostly unchanged in August (+0.1%), with gains in seven provinces offsetting the declines in Ontario (-0.5%), British Columbia (-1.3%) and Nova Scotia (-2.4%).
Industrial construction edged up 0.2% for the month, led by investment in Ontario.
