Building permits top $5-billion on condos

Activity won’t last, analysts say
OTTAWA - The number of building permits issued in Canadian municipalities "soared" in May, but economists warned Monday the flurry of activity won't last.
Statistics Canada said the value of building permits issued in May surpassed the $5-billion mark for the first time since October.

That represents a "whopping" 14.8% hike over April, according to Charmaine Buskas, senior economics strategist with TD Securities.
"This report is at odds with expectations, but can be mostly explained by the massive increases in two main sub components - multi-family units and institutional permits," Ms. Buskas said Monday. "Clearly, builders were not scared off by the weak macro economic backdrop, and in fact were helped by government spending."
However, she also cautioned, "This pace of rising activity is unlikely to continue."
Statistics Canada also attributed the new building activity to increases in the number of permits issued for multi-family dwellings in Ontario and institutional permits in Alberta and Ontario.

Municipalities approved 13,087 new dwellings in May, an increase of 22.1%.
Statistics Canada says that reflects an 40.5% increase, or 7,948 multi-family units. The number of single-family units approved rose 1.5% to 5,139.
"All provinces, except for Nova Scotia, reported increases in multi-family construction intentions," Statistics Canada said. "Intentions nearly doubled in Ontario compared with April."

The new data shows the largest gains were seen in Calgary in all components of the non-residential sector, and in Toronto with increases in multi-family dwelling permits.
By contrast, the total value of permits in Quebec declined in May, after two consecutive monthly increases.
Statistics Canada said the value of permits in the residential sector have increased for three consecutive months.
Residential building intentions rose 14.4% to $2.6-billion, with Ontario accounting for most of the increase.

In the non-residential sector, the value of permits rose 15.3% to $2.4-billion following a 12.9% decrease in April.
The building permits survey covers 2,400 municipalities representing 95% of the population and provides an early indication of projected building activity.

(Article Sourced from: Becky Rynor, Financial Post Published: Tuesday, July 07, 2009)