Statistics Canada announced on Thursday that the value of building permits issued by the Canadian municipalities fell 2.4 percent m-o-m in November, following an unrevised 1.5 percent m-o-m drop in October.
Economists had forecast a 1.0 percent gain in November from the previous month.
According to the report, the value of residential permits declined 4.0 percent m-o-m in November, as permits for multi-family dwellings plunged by 11.3 percent m-o-m, while single-family permits rose by 5.6 percent m-o-m.
At the same time, the value of non-residential building permits edged down 0.1 percent m-o-m in November, as a tumble in commercial permits (-13.5 percent m-o-m) offset gains in industrial (+24.5 percent m-o-m) and institutional permits (+24.9 percent m-o-m).
In y-o-y terms, building permits decreased 2.7 percent in November.