Statistics Canada announced on Tuesday that the value of building permits issued by the Canadian municipalities climbed 5.7 percent m-o-m in March, following a revised 3.1 percent m-o-m gain in February (originally an advance of 2.1 percent m-o-m). The March reading pointed to the third straight month of record-setting increases.

Economists had forecast a 2.0 percent increase in March from the previous month.

According to the report, the value of residential permits surged 15.9 percent m-o-m in March, as single-family permits increased 7.6 percent m-o-m and permits for multi-family dwellings jumped 24.5 percent m-o-m.

At the same time, the value of non-residential building permits plunged 15.6 percent m-o-m in March, due to declines in institutional (-33.5 percent m-o-m) and commercial permits (-14.6 percent m-o-m), which, however, were partially offset by an increase in industrial permits (+16.4 percent m-o-m).

In y-o-y terms, building permits climbed 44.9 percent in March.