Building Permit Statistics (December 2021, and Annual Review for 2021)
Note: Changes in monthly building permit values are typically very volatile, with large swings from one month to the next.
Highlights from December 2021 —
- Nova Scotia’s total building permits (residential and non-residential) decreased 18.0% to $231.3 million
- Halifax permits decreased 31.5% to $142.1 million.
- Outside the city, permit values increased 19.4% to $89.2 million.
- Nova Scotia’s non-residential building permits increased 18.9% to $66.4 million.
- Halifax permits increased 1.7% to $39.8 million.
- Outside the city, non-residential permit values increased 59.0% to $26.6 million.
Annual Highlights (2020 vs 2021) —
- Nova Scotia’s total building permits (residential and non-residential) increased 23.5% to $2,189.2 million.
- Halifax permits increased 16.6% to $1196.8 million.
- Outside the city, permit values increased 33.1% to $992.3 million.
- Nova Scotia’s non-residential building permits increased 5.4% to $520.3 million.
- Halifax permits increased 11.0% to $266.6 million.
- Outside the city, non-residential permit values increased 0.2% to $253.7 million.
- Overall building permit values in Nova Scotia increased in 2021 compared with 2020.
- Halifax single-unit residential permit values were down slightly in 2021 and institutional and governmental building permits declined compared to 2020
Trends
- Permit values trended down in late 2019 and the first half of 2020 but have been rising since then.
- There was a notable acceleration in building permit values at the end of 2020 and through most of 2021, particularly in residential projects across the province.
- There has been an upward trend in residential and non-residential building permit values in Halifax in recent months.
- Halifax non-residential building permits have been increasing in recent months. Commercial projects generally account for the bulk of non-residential building permit values.
- Commercial permits in Halifax had an upward trend since August 2021. Commercial project building permit values outside Halifax have been flat in recent months.
- Industrial building permits have moved upwards in recent months.
LEARN MORE: Find more stats and information in this release from Nova Scotia’s Finance and Treasury Board.