The value of residential building permits issued by Canadian municipalities in October was up 4.2% to $5.2 billion.
The increase, reported by Statistics Canada, shows that the number of units for which permits were issued was up by a similar share (4.1%) to 20,017.
Both single-family and multifamily units posted increases month-over-month although overall it was apartment condos that drove the increase.
For single-family dwellings, there was the first increase in five months in value terms; up 4.6% to $2.3 billion. In unit volume terms, the increase was 2.2% to 5,052.
For the multifamily sector, there was a rise of 3.8% to $2.9 billion; and a rise of 4.7% to 14,965 new units. Ontario ($222m) and BC ($115m) posted the largest gains while Quebec saw a sizeable decline (-$238m).
The value of non-residential building permits fell 7.0% in October to $2.9 billion. Eight provinces posted declines, most notably British Columbia.
The overall value of permits issued for residential and non-residential properties was $8.1 billion in October, down 0.2% from September. The decrease was mainly attributable to lower construction intentions for industrial and institutional buildings.