CBJ - February 14 - Municipalities issued building permits worth $6.8 billion in December, up 11.1 per cent from November, according to a report by Statistics Canada. This is the highest level since June 2007. The advance in December was due primarily to an increase in multi-family dwellings in Ontario and commercial buildings in Alberta.

In the residential sector, the value of permits rose 16.1 per cent to $4.5 billion. It was the second consecutive monthly increase. Ontario accounted for much of the growth recorded at the national level.

In the non-residential sector, the value of permits grew 2.8 per cent to $2.4 billion in December, following a 15.1 per cent decline in November. Alberta posted a large increase, which more than offset declines in most provinces.

The total value of building permits was up in five provinces, led by Ontario, Alberta, and Quebec. British Columbia had the largest decrease.

Construction intentions for multi-family dwellings rose 28.9 per cent to $1.9 billion. It was the second consecutive monthly increase and the highest level recorded since December 2005. The growth was due to major condominium and apartment building projects initiated in Ontario.

Municipalities issued $2.6 billion worth of building permits for single-family dwellings in December. The increase was attributable to higher construction intentions in six provinces, led by Quebec and Alberta.

Nationally, municipalities approved the construction of 19,015 new dwellings in December, up 13 per cent from November. The increase was largely due to multi-family dwellings, which rose 19.1 per cent to 11,560 units. The number of single-family dwellings rose 4.7 per cent to 7,455 units.

Commercially, municipalities issued permits worth $1.6 billion in December, a 41 per cent increase following two months of decline. The increase is largely attributable to higher construction intentions for office buildings and warehouse facilities in Alberta as well as hotels in Ontario.

The value of industrial building permits declined 24.2 per cent to $353 million in December. It was the second consecutive monthly decrease. The decline was mostly due to lower construction intentions in all provinces except Quebec. The largest decreases were in Alberta, Ontario, and British Columbia.