Investment in new housing construction, July 2018

Released: 2018-09-20

Investment in new housing construction increased 1.7% year over year to $5.0 billion in July. The growth was driven solely by investment in apartment building construction, as construction of single, double and row houses all declined compared with July 2017.

Chart 1 
Investment in new housing construction, by type of dwelling

Spending was up in four provinces, led by Quebec (+$98.5 million) and British Columbia (+$71.4 million) and, to a lesser extent, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. The growth in Quebec and British Columbia resulted from investment in apartment building construction, while in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, the increase was mainly attributable to investment in single home construction.

Spending on apartment building construction was up 29.1% (+$462.0 million) to $2.1 billion in July. Investment was up in every province, led by Ontario (+$198.0 million), Quebec (+$154.0 million) and British Columbia (+$91.5 million). Apartment building construction in Ontario grew 39.7% compared with July 2017 to $696.8 million, the highest level on record. In Quebec, apartment building construction rose 41.8% and has posted double-digit year-over-year increases since June 2017.

In Alberta, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, investment in apartment building construction rose following several consecutive year-over-year drops. Alberta (+1.0% or +$1.7 million) and New Brunswick (+15.2% or +$0.9 million) both posted their first year-over-year gains since February 2018. A similar pattern was observed in Nova Scotia (+1.8% or +$0.6 million), where investment in apartment building construction increased for the first time since January 2018.

Chart 2 
Year-over-year change of investment in new housing construction (by dwelling type)

Investment in single home construction declined for a fifth consecutive month, down 13.3% or $349.7 million year over year in July. Investment in single home construction was down in eight provinces, mainly in Ontario (-$177.2 million), Quebec (-$55.4 million) and Alberta (-$51.8 million). Meanwhile, investment in Nova Scotia (+$6.6 million) and Prince Edward Island (+$2.7 million) increased.

Spending on row unit construction was down $22.8 million or 4.8% in July, marking the first year-over-year decrease since July 2013. The largest drop in spending was in Ontario, down $28.3 million compared with July last year.

Infographic 1 
New housing construction investment, June 2018

Contact information

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