Building permits tick down by 1.9% in May

The value of Canadian building permits unexpectedly fell in May, inching down 1.9 per cent from April's level to $6.8 billion.

Statistics Canada reported Thursday that lowered construction intentions for commercial buildings in Ontario and Quebec contributed to the decrease. Reduced construction intentions forsingle-family homes in Ontario werealso a factor.

Declines for residential permits were recorded in seven provinces, led by Ontario, followed distantly by New Brunswick and British Columbia.

Property owners must apply for building permits with their local government any time they plan to expand or renovate their properties, and give a dollar figure for the value of the work being proposed.

The building permits figure is considered a leading indicator of the economy because it's a gauge of confidence in the economy property owners don't tend to spend money to renovate real estate unless they think it's worth it.

The value of residential building permits wasdown1.1 per centto $4.3billion. Commercial permits were down by even more off15.6 per cent from April's levelto $1.2billion.

Industrial permitsedged up0.6 per centto $384million and institutional permits were up20.3 per centto $842million.

Across all categories,the value of building permits was down in16of34census metropolitan areas. The largest declines were registered in Calgary, Winnipeg and Edmonton.