Price growth trends in most metropolitan markets showed significant Q3-Q4 shifts
Canadian residential building construction costs increased by 3.8% in the final quarter of 2021, following a similar rise in Q3, according to the national statistics agency.
A new Statistics Canada survey found that out of 11 major census metropolitan areas (CMAs), eight markets saw a slight slowing in the pace of residential building construction price growth in Q4. Some of these markets – in particular, Moncton, Saskatoon, and Ottawa – even registered their lowest quarterly increases in 2021, StatCan said.
“Costs to construct residential buildings increased the most in Montreal, followed by Toronto and Vancouver,” StatCan said. “In the fourth quarter, the cost to build low-rise apartments grew the most out of all of the buildings in scope for the survey in both Montreal and Vancouver, while single-detached houses led the growth in Toronto.”
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Meanwhile, non-residential building construction costs grew by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, slightly decelerating from Q3 levels.
“Non-residential building construction costs rose the most in Ottawa, Toronto, and Edmonton. However, for both Ottawa and Toronto, the quarterly growth decelerated compared with the previous quarter,” StatCan said.
On a quarterly basis, Saskatoon registered its highest non-residential building construction price growth for the year.
“The cost of building bus depots with maintenance and repair facilities, as well as factories, increased the most in this CMA,” StatCan said.
