But last month saw increases in Vancouver, Victoria
Derrick Penner
Sun
The value of building permits taken out in B.C. dropped off by 6.1 per cent to $906 million in September compared with August, Statistics Canada reported Monday, although an industry expert doubts the one-month change hints at any decline.
“We need [to see] a longer-term trend,” said Philip Hochstein, executive vice-president of the Independent Contractors and Business Association, which represents a large segment of B.C.’s construction industry. “Month up and month down doesn’t mean very much.
“The industry — and my guys do both [non-residential] and some high-rise residential — feels that the demand for construction services seems unabated and there’s no reason to foresee anything that would reduce the volume.
“If anything, it will be busier next year than this.”
Across the province, builders took out $661 million in residential building permits in September, which was 0.5 per cent less than they did in August. Firms taking on non-residential projects — hospitals, schools, commercial property or industrial plants — took out $245.1 million in permits, 18.5 per cent lower than in August.
For the year-to-date, however, the value of residential permits hit $5 billion at the end of September, 12 per cent over the same period in 2004. Non-residential permits topped $2.5 billion, a whopping 69 per cent above the level seen by the end of September last year.
Greater Vancouver saw a 13-per-cent increase in the value of building permits issued for construction projects to $4.2 billion by the end of September. Victoria, with $516 million in permits issued, experienced a 32.8-per-cent increase in activity.
In Abbotsford, while September’s permit activity dropped 14.1 per cent to $18.9 million compared with August, its year-to-date $234.8 million worth of permits issued is up 55.5 per cent from one year ago.
Statistics Canada said nationally in September municipalities issued $5.1 billion in building permits, which was 5.3 per cent less than August.
