Single-family building permits up in October

The value of building permits rose by 1.3 percent to $10.3 billion in October, StatCan reports. The gains were led by a 15 percent surge in British Columbia and an increase of 4.5 percent in Ontario. Residential construction intentions edged down 0.1 percent to $6.9 billion, with Ontario (down 2.2 percent) and British Columbia (-4.9 percent) pulling down the sector. Permits for single-family homes however rose 10.8 percent, led by Ontario (up 15.1 percent). Only Saskatchewan reported a decline (of 8.6 percent).