Canadian monthly building permits increased unexpectedly in April to post the largest gain in six months as planned construction of multi-family homes such as condominiums rose at the fastest pace since March 2011.

The value of building permits issued by Canadian municipalities rose 10.5% in April, the fourth consecutive gain, to 6.96 billion Canadian dollars ($6.73 billion), Statistics Canada said Wednesday. Plans to build multi-family residence, including scondominiums, apartments and town houses, soared 51.9%, led by gains in Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec.

The consensus call was for a 3% decline in overall permits, according to a report from Royal Bank of Canada. The prior month's increase, originally estimated at 8.6%, was revised down to 6.0%.

On a year-on-year basis, building permits in April rebounded to 5.4% after declining 8.9% in March.

The data, which provide an early indication of building activity, is based on a survey of 2,400 municipalities representing 95% of the country's population.