Statistics // National building permits jump 11 per cent in March 2023

Month over Month, March 2023

Note: Changes in monthly building permit values are typically very volatile, with large swings from one month to the next.

Nova Scotia’s total building permits (residential and non-residential) increased 6.1% to $230.7 million. Halifax permits increased 24.5% to $157.2 million. Outside the city, permit values decreased 19.5% to $73.5 million.

• National permits increased 11.3% to $11.80 billion.
• Building permit values were up in 7 of 10 provinces, led by Prince Edward Island. Newfoundland and Labrador reported the largest decline.

Nova Scotia’s non-residential building permits declined 1.2% to $60.3 million. Halifax permits increased 17.1% to $49.2 million. Outside the city, non-residential permit values decreased 41.6% to $11.2 million.

• National non-residential building permit values increased 32.0% to $5.18 billion.
• Non-residential permit values were up in 7 of 10 provinces, led by Prince Edward Island. Newfoundland and Labrador reported the largest decline.

Trends:

Overall building permit values have been on a rising trend since the middle of 2021, mostly driven by the rise in residential permit values (within Halifax as well as outside the city).

After growing at the end of 2021, Nova Scotia’s non-residential building permit values had trended down since the beginning of 2022 while trending up in recent months. Non-residential permit values have trended up in recent months in Halifax and upward trend since the middle of 2022 in the rest of the province.