Monthly construction intentions soften again
The seasonally-adjusted value of building permits issued in Alberta fell in October for the third month in a row
By Siddhartha Bhattacharya, ATB Economics 6 December 2022 1 min read
Alberta’s construction intentions have fallen to their lowest level in 12 months.
The seasonally-adjusted value of building permits issued by Alberta municipalities* was down by $6.7 million (-0.6%) in October, the third consecutive monthly pullback.
Lower residential permit values were responsible for most of the aggregate decline while non-residential construction intentions ticked up slightly in the month. It was a fairly similar story nationally.
Residential construction in Alberta is, however, outperforming the country as a whole when you look at the number of issuances on a year-to-date basis.
Relative to the first ten months of 2021, the number of residential building permits issued in the province was up by 10.1% compared to a drop of 8.0% nationally.
Looking ahead, we expect activity to continue to temper across the country primarily due to higher borrowing costs and supply-chain issues.
*Statistics Canada’s Building Permits Survey covers all Canadian municipalities that issue permits.
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