January building permits drop 4.9 per cent over previous month: report

A "substantial" drop in building intentions in the non-residential sector led to a 4.9 per cent decline in the value of building permits issued by municipalities throughout Canada in January, according to Statistics Canada.

The total dollar value of permits reached $5.7 billion, though this value still marks a 32.7 per cent increase over the totals seen in January 2009.

Commercial permits worth $982 million were issued in January, a 28.3 per cent decline from December.  Institutional building permits decreased 15.3 per cent to $439 million.

Industrial permits rose 9.4 per cent to $256 million after two monthly declines, with Ontario leading the four provinces that saw higher numbers of related permits.

The residential sector saw a 4.1 per cent increase in the value of permits to hit $4 billion, nearly twice the value of that seen in January 2009, largely due to a rise in single-family dwellings.

The largest decline in the total value of permits from December to January were seen in Greater Sudbury, Vancouver and Calgary.  Sudbury's drop was a result of a spike in permits in December as contractors sought to avoid fee increases which took effect in January 2010.