Despite an increase in building permit activity in June, the value of permits in the second quarter of 2023 declined, according to new data from Statistics Canada.
The national statistical agency reported that the value of permits in June rose by 6.1%, driven by a 20.4% jump in non-residential permits, most notably for new hospitals in Québec and British Columbia.
The value of residential permits in the month declined by 1.8% to $6.9 billion.
Total value of building permits fell in Q2 by 1.0% from the first quarter, to $32.2 billion.
The value of residential permits in the quarter increased by 4.9% to $20.3 billion after three straight quarterly declines. However, StatsCan noted that this was still down on a year-over-year basis from the $24.2 billion worth of residential permits issued in the second quarter last year.
The non-residential sector saw permit activity drop by 9.6% in the second quarter, coming off a record high in the first quarter, the agency said.