Ontario’s Institutional Permit Values Down Significantly in 2018, with Industrial and Commercial Sectors Holding Steady
ICI permit values in Ontario are down by 9% so far this calendar year (January-August compared to the same period in 2017), amounting to over $9 billion. The decline came from Ontario’s institutional sector, with permit values down 37% so far this year. The other sectors both have had modest increases in permit values, with industrial up by 3%, and commercial up by 5%.
Only five of Ontario’s sixteen metropolitan areas have seen their ICI permit values increase so far this year (January-August compared to the same period in 2017): Barrie (+19%), Belleville (+20), London (+22%), Oshawa (+53%), and Peterborough (+89%). In Barrie, Oshawa, and Peterborough, permit values also increased in all three sectors. Of the eleven metro areas where total ICI permit values fell, five had declines in all three sectors: Brantford (-27% overall), Hamilton (-20% overall), Ottawa (-13% overall), Thunder Bay (-70% overall), and Windsor (-22% overall). Total ICI permit values in Kingston fell by 55%, despite industrial permits in the metro area more than doubling (+114%) so far this year.
Toronto’s total ICI permit values are down by 15% so far this year (January-August compared to the same period in 2017). As it did with Ontario as a whole, the institutional sector led the decline, down by more than half compared to last year. Industrial permit values increased by 16% in Toronto compared to this point last year. Commercial permit values are at almost exactly the same level as last year, with only a quarter of a million dollars separating the first eight months of 2017 and 2018.
*Note: Statistics Canada recently changed its data processing methodology for municipal building permits. As a result, building permit statistics by region are not yet available. Until Statistics Canada begins publishing regional building permit data, the OCS will be reporting Ontario-wide quarterly statistics by province and metropolitan area.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Ian Worte
Research Analyst,
ianw@iciconstruction.com
Ontario Construction Secretariat (OCS)
180 Attwell Drive, Suite 360, Toronto, ON M9W 6A9
P 416.620.5210 ext. 241
F 416.620.5310