2012.05.07 14:36:13 Canada Building Permits Unexpectedly Higher In March

OTTAWA (Dow Jones)--Canadian building permits rose unexpectedly in March, driven by planned construction of government and office buildings, retail complexes and hospitals in Ontario, while residential permits declined for the third straight month. The overall value of building permits issued by municipalities increased for the second consecutive month, rising 4.7% to C$6.83 billion (US$6.86 billion), Statistics Canada said Monday. The consensus call was for a 1.8% decline, according to a report from Royal Bank of Canada. The prior month's gain was revised a tad higher to 7.6% from the originally estimated 7.5%. The figures are an indicator of future building activity. StatsCan compiles the data from a survey of 2,400 municipalities representing 95% of Canada's population. Residential building permits fell 1.3% to C$3.90 billion, with Ontario leading the six provinces that posted declines. Permits to build single-family homes fell 1.7%, and dropped 0.7% for multi-family dwellings such as condominiums. Both categores were down for the third straight month. Still, the statistical agency noted that the value of permits to build multi-family dwellings, which totaled C$1.6 billion, was 8.6% higher than the monthly average in 2011. Across Canada, municipalities issued permits to construct 17,650 new residences, a 2.1% increase from February. Permits to build multi-family dwellings and single-family homes were up 2.5% and 1.4%, respectively. Meanwhile, the value of permits in the non-residential sector rose 13.9% to C$2.93 billion, the highest level since June 2010. The institutional component soared 88.4%, driven by planned construction of government buildings and hospitals in Ontario. Permits in the commercial segment rose 15.3% on the back of planned construction of retail complexes, office buildings, warehouses, hotels and laboratories in seven provinces, including Ontario. The industrial component plunged 42.8% as planned building of factories in British Columbia, Quebec and Ontario declined. Web Site: http://www.statcan.gc.ca -Nirmala Menon, Dow Jones Newswires; 613-237-0668; nirmala.menon@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires May 07, 2012 08:36 ET (12:36 GMT)