Canada's record-setting pace of construction came to a sharp halt in February, according to Statistics Canada, which said the value of building permits plunged to its lowest level in a year.[/p] The government agency reported Wednesday that municipalities issued $4.9 billion worth of permits in February, down 22.4 per cent from January.[/p] The level was 12 per cent lower than last year's monthly average, and the lowest since February 2006.[/p] "February's decline, the fastest in 13 months, occurred due to across-the-board decreases in both residential and non-residential sectors," Statistics Canada reported.[/p] All provinces but Manitoba expected a decline in their construction schedule, with six of them registering double-digit percentage declines.[/p] "Prior to February, intentions have been strong in recent months, thanks mainly to soaring demand for residential and non-residential space in Western Canada."[/p] February's decline included drops in both the residential and non-residential sectors, Statistics Canada reported.[/p] Residential sector[/p] Permit values fell 17.8 per cent to $3.0 billion in the residential sector, the lowest level since March 2005.[/p] The housing sector saw intentions cool off in February because of an abrupt decline in multi-family dwelling permits, StatsCan said.[/p] The value of multi-family permits declined 34.4 per cent to $824 million, the lowest value in 13 months and the second lowest since December 2004.[/p] Municipalities approved only 7,120 multi-family units, down 27.4 per cent, the lowest level in just over a year.[/p] Meanwhile, the value of single-family permits fell 9.0 per cent to $2.2 billion after a record high the month before. This was the lowest level in eight months.[/p] Municipalities approved 9,160 single-family units, down 7.3 per cent from January, and 7.7 per cent below the average for 2006.[/p] The residential sector has seen the number of approved units decline since August 2006.[/p] The trend had seen almost uninterrupted growth since the beginning of 2005 until August.[/p] "However, several factors could still prop up the demand for housing, including strong employment growth, increasing disposable income, high consumer confidence, immigration and inter-provincial migration, favourable mortgage rates and low apartment vacancy rates in various centres," the report said.[/p] "On the other hand, the price of new homes continued to increase strongly in Western Canada, and the inventory of unsold new housing has been on the rise since August 2006."[/p]Story continues:[/p][a href="http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070404/statscan_permits_070404/20070404?hub=Canada"]http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070404/statscan_permits_070404/20070404?hub=Canada[/a]
