February New Housing Investment Rises 9.5% YOY

Apr 30, 2018

Investment in new housing construction increased 9.5% from February 2017 to $4.5 billion in February.

The year-over-year increase was led by spending on multiple-unit construction (apartment buildings, row houses and semi-detached houses), while spending on single-family homes was down compared with February 2017. 

February marked the fourth consecutive month that the year-over-year increase in spending on apartment building construction outpaced spending on single houses. Apartment building construction rose in eight provinces, led by Quebec (+$182.4 million), Ontario (+$80.3 million) and British Columbia (+$74.3 million). 

Spending on row house construction increased 24.1% (+$97.7 million) compared with February 2017, mainly driven by investment in Ontario (+$50.8 million), Alberta (+$23.0 million) and British Columbia (+$18.6 million). 

Investment in semi-detached houses rose by 16.6% (+$29.4 million) in February compared with the same month in 2017, led by additional investment in Ontario (+$23.4 million).

Spending on single homes in February declined 3.8% (-$80.9 million) year over year. The decrease was mostly due to lower spending in Ontario, down 12.1% (-$121.9 million).
Quebec and British Columbia posted the strongest year-over-year growth in spending on new housing construction in February, while Prince Edward Island posted the highest year-over-year percentage increase (+42.7%). In Quebec, investment was up by 29.2% or $156.6 million, solely driven by higher investment in apartment building construction. In British Columbia, investment was up by 17.5% or $151.4 million, with gains reported for all building types, driven by apartment building construction (+$74.3 million) and, to a lesser extent, by single-family house construction (+$51.2 million).

Source: Statistics Canada, www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/180419/dq180419c-eng.htm