-Jeff Rubin, CIBC World Markets
The value of Canada's building permits dropped in June amid lower construction intentions for apartments and apartments-condominium projects in Ontario and British Columbia, official data from Statistics Canada revealed on Monday. The total value of permits fell 5.5% in the sixth month of the year, remaining in the contraction territory for the fourth consecutive month, whereas market analysts pencilled in an increase of 2.7%.Meanwhile, May's reading was revised down to a 2.1% drop from an originally reported 1.9% decline. Residential building permits decreased 5.0% as the value of permits for multi-family homes dropped 15.8% in June, while permits issued for single-family homes rose 4.2% in the same month. The drop in multi-family building permits was driven primarily by weaker construction intentions in Ontario and British Columbia, two largest real estate markets in Canada, Toronto and Vancouver. Total permits in Vancouver fell 25.2%, driven mainly by a big drop in filings for multi-family housing projects.
Furthermore, non-residential building permits declined 6.2% in the reported month. Institutional building permits and industrial building permits decreased 20.6% and 8.7%, respectively. The monthly building permit report provides a comprehensive picture of the state of the Canadian economy.
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