January New Housing Construction Spending Up 9.4% YOY

Mar 23, 2018

New housing construction investment totalled $4.4 billion in January, up 9.4% compared with January 2017. Investment was up for all dwelling types.

Spending rose in eight provinces, led by Quebec (+$139.1 million), British Columbia (+$128.3 million) and Alberta (+$82.6 million). The increase in Quebec was driven by investment in apartment building construction. In British Columbia, year-over-year gains were posted for all dwelling types, with single homes (+$52.3 million) and apartments (+$52.1 million) accounting for the majority of the increase.

In Alberta, spending increased in every component, led by single homes (+$56.6 million), which accounted for over two-thirds of the increase compared with January 2017.
Spending on apartment buildings continues to lead the national growth.

Apartment buildings were the largest contributor to the year-over-year growth in residential construction investment in Canada, up $232.5 million (+16.9%) in January. Expenditures on apartment buildings were up in every province, led by Quebec (+$153.3 million) and followed by British Columbia (+$52.1 million). Apartment building construction accounted for 62.1% of total construction investment in Quebec compared with 49.7% in January 2017.

Investment in row house construction rose $102.3 million (+26.3%) compared with the same period a year earlier. Seven provinces reported gains, led by Ontario (+$62.2 million) and Alberta (+$19.8 million).

Single home construction investment (+0.2%) reported the smallest year-over-year increase since January 2016. Higher investment in single family home construction in Alberta (+$56.6 million) and British Columbia (+$52.3 million) were largely offset by lower investment in Ontario (-$82.3 million). This was the largest year-over-year drop for single family homes in Ontario since October 2009.

Source: Statistics Canada, www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/180321/dq180321b-eng.htm