What happened: Greater Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»municipalities issued $800 million in building permits this February.
Why it matters: That figure, which signals builders’ construction intentions, was down 20.5 per cent over January.Ìý
After three consecutive months of more than $1 billion in building permits issued, the value of green-lit permits in Greater Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»fell by 20.5 per cent.
Statistics Canada said municipalities in the region issued $800 million in permits this February. It’s a 43 per cent drop over December, when Greater Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»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 Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»permits were down 22 per cent on a seasonally adjusted basis. They were down 4.8 per cent over February 2017.
Lower building intentions for multi-family developments weighed down B.C.’s overall performance.
February saw 21 per cent fewer residential permits issued compared to January, which registered as a 21.8 per cent drop year over year.
Non-residential permits were up 15.4 per cent month to month and up 21.8 per cent over February 2018.
The net result was an 11.5 per cent drop in permit values on a monthly basis, and a near 11 per cent decline on an annual one.
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