Ashley Ford
Province
The B.C. construction industry is getting no summer vacation this year, with the non-residential sector riding its best year since 2000.
The sector continues to bounce back with a vengeance. So far this year, permits worth $1.71 billion have been issued, an impressive 78.8-per-cent increase from 2004’s $957.6 million.
Building-permit numbers released yesterday by Statistics Canada show the value of Vancouver permits taking a jump in June to $563 million from May’s $424.4 million, a 32.7-per-cent increase. So far this year, permits valued at $2.6 billion have been issued, compared with $2.5 billion a year ago, a more modest 4.9-per-cent jump.
The rest of the province is also benefitting from a robust economy with permits worth $898.5 million being issued in June compared with $804.5 million in May — an 11.7-per-cent increase.
So far this year, permit values are running 22 per cent ahead of where they were a year ago at $4.9 billion.
The rest of the country is also performing well. Municipalities issued more than $5 billion in building permits in June, signalling higher construction intentions in both the residential and non-residential sectors. The total value of permits rose 1.5 per cent from May.
Builders took out $3.2 billion in residential permits, up a half percentage point from May. The value of non-residential permits rose 3.1 per cent to $1.9 billion, which was 19.5 per cent higher than the average monthly level last year.
In the residential sector, a decline in single-family homes was more than offset by an increase in multi-family residences.
In the non-residential sector, gains in the industrial and commercial components more than offset a drop in institutional permits.
Permits are well ahead of the record-setting pace set in 2004. The cumulative value totalled $29.7 billion for the first half of 2005, 10.5 per cent above the same six months last year. Residential permits were up 4.4 per cent and non-residential permits 22.7 per cent.
© The Vancouver Province 2005