2022 Building Permit Statistics in Around Town
Your Weekly Construction Briefing
Compared to 2021, total building permit values in 2022 decreased by 24 per cent from $452 to $334 million. The number of permits issued also decreased by 26 per cent from 1124 permits in 2021 to 852 in 2022.
The decline in the number of permits hit all categories, with the exception of a 50% increase in attached and detached secondary suites. Commercial and residential renovations decreased by 12 and 15 per cent while single-family, duplex to fourplex, and multi-family decreased by 37, 29 and 50 per cent.
Between 2021 and 2022, single-family permits declined in all Quarters, with a 21% decline between January to June and 41% decline between July to December when the interest rate was steadily increasing.
When comparing detached single-family (SF) construction in 2022, versus the 5 previous years (2017 to 2021), 2022 had a total of 236 SF permits versus a 5-year average of 365 units annually.
While the total of single-family permits issued in 2022 were 37 per cent lower than in 2021, there was a similar decline in 2015 and rebound in 2016. In 2014, permits were issued for 345 units, dropping to 245 in 2015, and then up to 375 in 2016. Between 2017 and 2021, the number of single-family permits remained steady between 343 and 389 annually.
As for multi-family units, while there has been a 50% decline between 2021 and 2022, there has also been a substantial increase over the last 6 years and applications for 600+ units are waiting to be approved. In the last 6 years, over 2900 multi family units have been built or are wrapping up construction. In 2017, permits were issued for 146 units, reaching a high of 1059 units by 2020. In 2021, units dropped to 599, and dropped again to 301 in 2022.
While these declines could imply that a recession is looming, it’s going to take another year of statistics to help forecast what the next 5 years has in store. The construction sector is obviously on a downhill slide while the interest rate slows the economy, and some developers and builders assume a slower pace. That being said, several projects with over 3000 mixed units are under various levels of approvals and the next year or two may provide some normalcy before the market ramps up again.
The 2022 Year End Building Permit Statistics in this week’s issue. Subscribe now for access.
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