Investor confidence was on full display in the latest building permit report compiled by Stats Canada. The figures are from August and show Saskatchewan posting a strong showing –the highest increase in Canada actually.
The overall gain – including both residential and non-residential building permits issued by local governments that month – was 59 per cent across the province. The national figure, in contrast, was negative 5.9 per cent.
The big mover for us was non-residential. The value of permits in this category was topped $140 million. That’s a jump of more than 70 per cent over the previous month and the same month last year. The big boost came from Regina which saw permit values jump by 130 per cent compared to the previous month and more than 215 per cent over the same time last year. Saskatoon, the only other Saskatchewan city tracked by the federal agency, posted gains of nearly 50 per cent for the month and 25 per cent for the year.
And we also saw a bit of a breakout in residential permit values as interest rate sensitive builders seem poised to move forward as permit values rose more than 40 per cent.
