After a year of consistent interest rate hikes and stubbornly high inflation, housing construction slowed across Canada in December.According to recent data from Statistics Canada (StatCan), the total value of building permits issued in December fell to $10.3B, a monthly decline of 7.3% and down 9.3% from a year prior.
Looking at 2022 as a whole, the total current dollar value of building permits increased 6.8% annually; however, StatCan noted the increase was “largely the result of inflated valuations from persistent material and labour cost increase.” Adjusted on a constant dollar basis, the total value dropped 6.6%.