The value of building permits rose again in October, Statistics Canada said today.

The government agency said municipalities issued $5.2 billion in permits in October, up 1.2% from September and slightly off the record set last August.

The gains in October continued a trend that started more than three years ago. The value of building permits has risen by one-third since October 2002 and by more than 10% so far this year.

The gains extended across the country and across most sectors of the construction industry.

The numbers of permits for houses has risen for the sixth time in the past seven months to the highest level since June 2004, while the value of non-residential permits was 20% higher in October than the average monthly level in 2004.

The only key sector to decline across the country was commercial construction. The number of building permits for office buildings and warehouses helped pull that area down by 15.2% across the country, to $958-million. Ontario showed the biggest decline, falling 28%, a fall that was expected after two strong months.

But the rise in industrial and institutional construction more than made up for the slump in commercial intentions.

The residential sector continued to dominate the industry. Building permits for single-family houses rose for the fourth consecutive month in October, up three% to $2.2-billion, while multi-unit intentions rose 1.4% to $1.2-billion.

Ontario showed the biggest increase in housing in October, while Alberta and British Columbia set new records for single-family permits.