Despite glowing reports of economic good news in a local newspaper, building permits for Abbotsford-Mission in May were at a level of 10.12M, down from 19.30M April and down from 19.44M one year ago. This is a change of -47.55% from last month and -47.93% from one year ago.
Statistics showing reduced economic growth published last week belie the reality on the ground for contractors, realtors, construction companies and businesses who can’t make money from the massive public works projects which skew the statistics showing upward economic growth in the area.
The monthly Building Permits Survey collects data on the value of permits issued by Canadian municipalities for both residential and non-residential buildings, and the number of residential dwellings authorized. The survey also measures the number of dwelling units demolished.
Building permit data are widely used as a leading indicator for the construction industry since the issuance of a building permit is one of the first steps in the construction process.
Statistics on building permits are essential inputs for the computation of residential building construction expenditures, the quarterly and annual estimates of net capital stock, and depreciation by component. They are also a major input in the computation of investment in non-residential building construction on a sub-annual basis.
In addition, the results of this survey are used by CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation) as a reference frame for conducting a monthly survey of housing starts and completions in accordance with its mandate.
The statistics are used by a wide range of economists, construction industry analysts, housing market analysts and economic development officers across Canada.