Province’s Building Boom Tops Nation

Saskatchewan led the provinces with the largest percentage increase in residential construction investment in 2007, posting an increase of 37.4 per cent to $2.06 billion, according to Statistics Canada.

The province also had a strong fourth quarter, with a 44.3 per cent increase to $571 million from $395.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2006, the largest percentage increase among the provinces.

Residential investment has three main components: new home construction, including single and multi-family dwellings, condo conversions, cottages and mobile homes; alterations and renovations of existing buildings, and acquisition costs, including taxes, land development, service charges and other fees.

Nationally, the total value of residential construction investment in 2007 reached $88.7 billion, an increase of 8.5 per cent compared with 2006, with gains across all types of residential construction -- new housing, renovation and acquisition costs.

In dollar terms, the largest yearly increases were in Alberta, which climbed 18.9 per cent to $14.8 billion, and Quebec where investment stood at $19.1 billion -- an increase of eight per cent.

Investment in new housing made up the largest dollar contribution, with an increase of 8.5 per cent to $44.2 billion.

The StatsCan report said the main driver behind this increase was investment in single-family homes, which rose 7.2 per cent to $27.4 billion, and in apartment and condominium construction, which increased 9.7 per cent to $10.3 billion.

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