Building permits hit a record
TAVIA GRANT
Building permits hit a record in November, further evidence of last year's remarkable strength in the real-estate industry.
In November, municipalities issued $6.3-billion in building permits, a record monthly high, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
That sent last year's activity to an annual record.
It took Canada's contractors only 11 months in 2006 to set a new annual record for the total value of building permits, thanks to strong residential and non-residential sectors, the report said.
Between January and November of last year, contractors took out permits worth $61.1-billion. That was 0.5 per cent higher than the previous record of $60.8-billion, which was for all of 2005.
The pace may be slowing though. Housing starts pulled back in December even in the West a report showed Tuesday, and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. predicted that last year's blistering pace of starts won't be matched this year.
Separately, Statscan said Wednesday Canadian new home prices rose a stronger-than-expected 0.5 per cent in November from October and were 11.4 per cent higher on an annual basis.
Calgary and Edmonton had the largest yearly increase, followed by Saskatoon, Regina and Winnipeg.
The Schacter Team - Langley Real Estate