Statistics Canada announced on Friday that the value of building permits issued by the Canadian municipalities fell 6.5 percent m-o-m in September, following a revised 5.6 percent m-o-m surge in August (originally a 6.1 percent m-o-m increase).

Economists had forecast a 2.0 percent drop in September from the previous month.

According to the report, the value of residential permits tumbled 1107 percent m-o-m in September, as permits for multi-family dwellings plunged by 12.1 percent m-o-m, and single-family permits dropped by 8.7 percent m-o-m.

At the same time, the value of non-residential building permits increased 0.9 percent m-o-m in September, due to a climb in commercial (+6.1 percent m-o-m) permits, which, however, were offset by declines in industrial (-8.1 percent m-o-m) and institutional (-5.0 percent m-o-m) permits.

In y-o-y terms, building permits rose 2.1 percent in September.