April saw building permit values decline in B.C., Canada

The total value of building permits declined provincially and nationally in April.

Statistics Canada reports the value of building permits in British Columbia in April was $2,001,600, down 12.7 per cent from March’s $2,291,000.

That drop represents a month-over-month decline of 7.9 per cent in residential permits ($1,498,900 in April) and a 24.3 per cent decline in non-residential builds ($502,600).

The decline in commercial building permit values in B.C. was six per cent, which was the largest decrease in that sector in all of Canada.

Monthly change in values of building permits by province and territory (image courtesy of Statistics Canada)

Though down on a month-over-month basis, the province did see a year-over-year increase of 37.6 per cent compared to April 2021’s building permit value of $1,454,900.

The report from StatsCan did not include Vernon-specific figures, but did note that the value of building permits in Kelowna in April was $114,700,000. That figure was down 24.4 per cent from March, but up 17.5 per cent from the previous April.

Nationally, the total value of building permits in Canada declined 0.6 per cent monthly to $11,679,400 in April.

Though down from March’s value of $11,755,000, April’s figure was still up 5.5 per cent from the previous year, when the country’s building permit values were recorded at $11,069,700.

StatsCan reports that a 3.3 per cent monthly decrease in residential permits across Canada in April were offset by a five per cent gain in the non-residential sector.