Building Permits
The value of building permits issued in B.C. dipped 23.5% (seasonally adjusted) in December, after solid growth in the previous month (+11.9%). The drop-off was due primarily to a slump in residential building permits (-27.3%), the deepest decrease since November 2011. Non-residential permits also posted a decline (-8.3%), mostly resulting from a weaker market for commercial building permits (-13.3%).
Permits in Vancouver plummeted 35.2%, but showed strength in Kelowna (+1.9%), Victoria (+22.1%) and Abbotsford-Mission (+133.1%).