Building construction investment on the rise in December

Investment in non-residential building construction for December of 2024. (Source: Statistics Canada, Table 34-10-0286-01—Investment in Building Construction.)

With gains posted across all components, investment in building construction rose was on the rise in December, according to the latest report from Statistics Canada. Overall, investment grew by 1.9 per cent, or $408.1 million, to reach $21.8 billion in the final month of 2024. The residential sector grew 2.2 per cent to $15.1 billion while the non-residential sector was up 1.3 per cent to $6.7 billion. Year over year, investment in building construction grew 4.7 per cent in December.

Within the residential sector, the multi-unit component was the main driver of gains. While single family home investment edged up slightly and posted a fifth consecutive monthly increase to reach $7.3 billion, the 0.8 per cent growth paled against the 3.5 per cent gain posted in the multi-unit construction segment. That component rebounded from two significant and consecutive monthly declines to come in at $7.7 billion.

A 10th straight monthly increase in Ontario helped pace non-residential construction investment to a 1.3 per cent gain in December as monthly increases in eight provinces and one territory brought building construction investment to $6.7 billion.

Within those figures, the industrial component was up 1.8 per cent at $1.5 billion, commercial construction investment edged up 0.6 per cent to $3.3 billion in December, and institutional construction investment rose two per cent to reach $1.9 billion.

Investment in building construction grew by one per cent to reach $64.5 billion in the fourth quarter, marking the sixth consecutive quarterly increase. This most recent quarterly increase in investment in building construction was primarily led by the non-residential sector, which rose $580.7 million to reach $19.8 billion. The institutional component was up $244.8 million at $5.7 billion; the industrial component gained $224.6 million to reach $4.3 billion; and the commercial component gained $111.3 million to come in at $9.8 billion.

Growth was much more muted in residential sector investment. That sector edged up 0.2 per cent to $44.8 billion in the fourth quarter. Growth in single family home investment rose $1.3 billion to $21.7 billion, an increase that was almost entirely offset by declines in the multi-unit component, which fell $1.2 billion to $23.1 billion.

Year over year, investment in building construction rose 5.8 per cent to $253.8 billion for 2024. On a constant dollar basis, with 2017 as the baseline, the total value of investment in building construction increased 2.4 per cent.

Looking at constant dollar values, residential sector investment rose three per cent to $102.4 billion in 2024, driven by a 9.3 per cent rise in the multi-dwelling component, which came in at $54.6 billion. Meanwhile, investment in single family homes decreased 3.3 per cent to $47.8 billion, marking the lowest level on record for the series.

In constant dollar values, again based on 2017 as the standard, investment in the non-residential sector increased 1.1 per cent to $51.7 billion in 2024, although growth was not posted across all segments. The industrial component was up 4.4 per cent, or $440.7 million, at $10.5 billion. Institutional construction investment rose 9.7 per cent to $15.3 billion. And investment in the commercial component posted a drop of 4.5 per cent, falling $1.2 billion to $25.9 billion in 2024.

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