After bouncing back in July by 34.5 per cent, the seasonally adjusted value of building permits issued by Alberta municipalities* edged down by 0.7 per cent in August.

The negative effects of the pandemic and slow economy are evident with the value of permits in August off by 7.3 per cent compared to 12 months earlier.

The total value of permits over the first eight months of the year was down by $698.5 million (9.2 per cent) compared to the same period last year and remains a large hole to fill.

Non-residential permit values were down by 8.7 per cent while the residential sector saw an increase of 5.5 per cent.

All of the increase on the residential front was due to permits for multiple dwelling buildings which were up by 13.3 per cent while single dwelling building permits were down by 0.8 per cent.

Although permit value managed to increase by 1.7 per cent in August, the national numbers are roughly in line with Alberta’s with year-over-year permit value off by 11.2 per cent and the year-to-date total off by 8.6 per cent.

*Statistics Canada’s Building Permits Survey covers all Canadian municipalities that issue permits.