Investment in new housing construction, May 2018
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Released: 2018-07-19
$4,804.0 million
May 2018
6.3% 
(12-month change)
$20.3 million
May 2018
7.8%
(12-month change)
$15.1 million
May 2018
22.7%
(12-month change)
$61.3 million
May 2018
-8.4% 
(12-month change)
$22.0 million
May 2018
-3.8%
(12-month change)
$836.9 million
May 2018
27.0%
(12-month change)
$1,826.2 million
May 2018
2.0%
(12-month change)
$131.6 million
May 2018
-12.1%
(12-month change)
$70.6 million
May 2018
-25.8%
(12-month change)
$716.6 million
May 2018
3.1%
(12-month change)
$1,095.3 million
May 2018
9.4%
(12-month change)
$5.7 million
May 2018
4.8%
(12-month change)
$1.1 million
May 2018
-58.6%
(12-month change)
$1.4 million
May 2018
61.0%
(12-month change)
Investment in new housing construction increased 6.3% from May 2017 to $4.8 billion in May. The year-over-year increase was led by spending on multiple-unit construction (apartment buildings, row houses and semi-detached houses), while spending on single-family homes was down.
Apartment building construction rose in eight provinces, led by Quebec (+$225.2 million), Ontario (+$114.5 million) and British Columbia (+$93.2 million), accounting for 39.7% of total investment in new housing construction and the largest share on record since the start of this data series in 1992.
Spending on row house construction was up 11.7% (+$56.4 million) compared with May 2017, mainly driven by investment in Ontario (+$16.0 million), Alberta (+$15.3 million) and British Columbia (+$14.4 million).
Investment in semi-detached houses increased by 8.8% (+$19.7 million) in May compared with the same month in 2017. Quebec (+$8.7 million) and British Columbia (+$6.5 million) saw the largest provincial gains for this component.
Spending on single homes was down 9.9% (-$232.3 million) year over year. Overall, nine provinces reported lower spending, with Ontario (-$96.9 million) and Quebec (-$59.7 million) posting the largest declines.
Provinces: Quebec and British Columbia lead the growth
Quebec (up 27.0% or $177.8 million) and British Columbia (up 9.4% or $94.2 million) posted the strongest year-over-year growth in spending on new housing construction in May. In both provinces, the increases were mainly due to spending on apartment building construction.
Chart 1
Investment in new housing construction, by type of dwelling
Chart 2
Year-over-year change of investment in new housing construction (by dwelling type)
Infographic 1
New housing construction investment, May 2018
Note to readers
Data on investment in new housing construction (including single-family housing, semi-detached housing, row housing, apartments and condominiums) are not seasonally adjusted, and all comparisons in this release are between May 2017 and May 2018.
Data in table 34-10-0012-01 are available at the national and provincial–territorial levels in both current and constant dollars (base year 2007).
Unless otherwise specified, the highlights refer to current dollars and are ranked in terms of dollar change rather than percentage change.
Contact information
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