Alberta's building permits continue to impress

According to Statistics Canada, Alberta’s cities and towns issued a total of $1.8 billion in building permits in August, a three per cent increase from July. Though August’s permit figures are impressive, they are just shy of the all-time record set in May 2007 ($1.84 billion). Record or not, residential and non-residential construction intentions are a staggering 30 per cent higher than the same time last year.

August’s increase is mainly due to gains made in the residential sector. Residential permits were up a striking 14 per cent from July, to $1.0 billion. Alberta’s non-residential sector actually slipped ten per cent. Permits for the institutional and government component of the non-residential sector saw a 22 per cent drop in August.

Alberta was one of four provinces that saw the total value of permits increase in August. Nationally, the total value fell 27 per cent to $6.7 billion after three months of sizeable gains. Looking specifically at non-residential building permits, Canada’s total decreased 41 per cent to $2.5 billion in August.

It’s no surprise that the value of permits in Alberta continues to climb, especially in the residential sector. Alberta’s home builders are taking advantage of this province’s steady population increases which are being propelled by the arrival of more provincial migrants.