Apartments Lead New Housing Construction in November 2017

January 25, 2018

New housing construction investment rose 7.9% from November 2016 to $5.0 billion in November, mostly attributable to increased construction investment in apartment buildings (+$282.1 million).

For the first time since September 2011, every province reported higher spending on apartment building construction. Quebec led the way, with a year-over-year increase of $165.3 million.

Decreased investment in single-family house construction

Nationally, investment in new housing construction grew year over year in November for every type of housing except single-family houses, where investment fell by $86.0 million (-3.5%). The decline was mainly attributable to lower spending on single-family house construction in Ontario (-$73.3 million) and Quebec (-$66.9 million).

Alberta stood out with a $77.0 million increase in single-family house construction, accounting for nearly three-quarters (73.1%) of the total increase in spending on new house construction in the province. Spending on new housing construction in Alberta increased year over year for all components for the first time since April 2015.

Other provincial highlights

New housing construction investment rose in seven provinces in November. The largest increase was in Alberta (+$105.3 million), followed closely by Ontario (+$101.0 million) and Quebec (+$97.3 million). Saskatchewan posted the largest decline (-$10.5 million or -9.6%) compared with November 2016.

New housing construction investment increased for all types of housing in four provinces: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Prince Edward Island.

Source: Statistics Canada, http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/180122/dq180122b-eng.htm