March building permits soar to 4-year high

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The value of building permits issued in Canada jumped 17.2 percent in March from February to the highest level in almost four years as intentions for multi-family dwellings more than doubled, Statistics Canada said on Thursday.

Analysts in a Reuters poll had forecast a 4.0 percent slump in the value of permits in March following the surprise 9.8 percent jump in February.

In the residential sector intentions soared 33.9 percent as municipalities approved C$1.9 billion ($2.0 billion) in permits for multi-family dwellings after two consecutive months of declines. Plans for single-family homes gained 2.5 percent in the month.

In the non-residential sector intentions slid 0.4 percent as plans for industrial and commercial buildings fell, offsetting record high intentions for institutional buildings.

The value of permits for institutional buildings jumped 83.1 percent in March, led by intentions for educational and medical buildings in Ontario. That increase was not enough to offset a 65.1 percent drop in plans for industrial buildings and a 1.7 percent decline in commercial building intentions.

Compared with a year earlier, total building permits were up 9.7 percent, with residential permits down 1.4 percent and non-residential permits up 30.3 percent.

($1 = $0.97 Canadian)

(Reporting by Howaida Sorour and Louise Egan, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)