Analysis:Canada Jun Building Permits +2.5%;Single Family Down>

--Residential -0.9%, Non-Residential +8.8%

     By Yali N'Diaye 

     OTTAWA (MNI) - The value of permits issued by Canadian 

municipalities, an indicator of future construction activity, rose for 

the third consecutive month in June, posting a 2.5% gain following an 

upwardly revised increase of 10.7% in May, Statistics Canada reported 

Wednesday. 

     All components of residential and non-residential construction 

intentions were up on the month, except for a 12.5% drop in 

single-family dwellings that sent overall residential permits down 0.9%. 

A 12.5% increase in multiple-family dwellings was not enough to offset 

the weakness in the single-family category. 

     Construction intentions in the non-residential sector rose 8.8% on 

the month and 28.1% year-over-year, led by  commercial permits, which 

rose 13.0% from May. 

     Building permits for industrial constructions rose 6.3% in June and 

they were up 2.1% in the industrial sector. 

     For the second quarter, building permits rose 4.0%, with 

non-residential permits up 12.1% and residential permits edging down 

0.1% from the first quarter. 

     While overall building permits were up in June, including a 12.9% 

gain in the Toronto region, the area showed signs of weakness in the 

single-family sector, where construction intentions fell 24.7% in June. 

     Measures to cool down the housing market were announced at the 

national level last October, and reinforced at the provincial level by a 

Fair Housing Plan introduced by Ontario on April 20, notably to 

discourage speculative purchases by foreign investors. 

     Some observers have said that in response to measures to curb 

foreign speculation, some investors could be moving to the Montreal 

region, where building permits rose 32.5% in June, the largest gain 

since August 2016. 

     Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported Wednesday that 

housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 222,324 in 

July from 212,948 in June, beating analysts' expectations of 205,000. 

     The six-month trend rose to 217,550 units, ramping up for a seventh 

consecutive month, said CMHC Chief Economist Bob Dugan, citing British 

Columbia and Alberta as the main contributors. 

     However, the trend was lower in Toronto. 

 --MNI Ottawa Bureau; temail: yali.ndiaye@marketnews.com

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