New Housing Investment Rises 8.4% in April YOY

Chart, new housing investment April 2017

July 3, 2017

New housing construction investment totalled $4.6 billion in April, up 8.4% compared with April 2016. Investment increased for every dwelling type, but resulted mostly from spending on single-family dwellings, up $251.8 million to $2.4 billion.

Six provinces posted higher investments in single-family dwelling construction. Ontario was well ahead of the other provinces, with $203.7 million in increased spending. This marks a 22.9% increase over April 2016.

Investment in apartment building construction rose 1.9% in April, mainly attributable to higher spending in British Columbia (+$61.4 million), followed by Quebec (+$29.5 million). The biggest declines for this type of dwelling were in Alberta (-$58.2 million) and Ontario (-$14.1 million).

Year over year, investment in new row housing construction continued to increase in most provinces in April. Only Alberta (-$18.4 million) and Nova Scotia (-$0.5 million) posted declines.

Spending on semi-detached dwelling construction increased in seven provinces in April, up 13.2% from April 2016 to $218.1 million. Alberta posted the largest year-over-year increase (+$12.9 million). Spending on semi-detached dwelling construction edged down in British Columbia, Quebec and Manitoba.

Provincially, the biggest year-over-year increases were recorded in Ontario and, to a lesser degree, British Columbia and Manitoba. In Ontario, new residential construction investment rose 15.1% to $1.9 billion. Spending was up for all dwelling types except apartment buildings, which fell 2.8%.

New housing construction investment in British Columbia rose 6.1% year over year to $997.2 million. This gain was mainly attributable to increased spending on apartment building construction, as spending for this type of dwelling represents 45.6% of total spending on new housing construction in the province.

In Manitoba, investment in new housing construction totalled $143.3 million, up 38.7% compared with April 2016. This gain was primarily attributable to increased investment in single-family dwelling construction (+$27.7 million) and, to a lesser extent, apartment building construction (+$9.4 million).

Source: Statistics Canada, www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/170621/dq170621c-eng.htm.

Related Articles


Changing Scene

  • Noramco Announces Jonathan Shortland as New Account Manager

    Noramco Announces Jonathan Shortland as New Account Manager

    Noramco invites you to join them in welcoming Jonathan Shortland as its new Account Manager, OEM Ontario. Jonathan brings over 11 years of global sales and business development experience across SaaS, consumer packaged goods, hospitality, design, technology, and electrical trades. He began his career in New Zealand with Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, managing national key accounts… Read More…

  • Noramco Announces Chad Goulet as New Account Manager

    Noramco Announces Chad Goulet as New Account Manager

    Noramco invites you to join them in welcoming Chad Goulet as its new Account Manager for Northern Ontario. Chad brings several years of experience in mining and industrial sales with a proven track record in sales growth, account management, and customer service. Known for his strong relationships, and customer-first approach, Chad is driven to achieve… Read More…


Peers & Profiles