Canadian investment in new housing construction rose 5.1 percent to C$3.7 billion (US$3 billion) in December compared with the same month in 2013.
Alberta recorded the largest year-over-year increase, with investment up 16.7 percent to C$865 million (US$691.3 million), followed by British Columbia, up 11.3 percent to C$633 million (US$505.9 million), and Ontario, up 4 percent to C$1.2 billion (US$1 billion).
Conversely, Manitoba posted the largest decline, down 18.8 percent to $96 million (US$76.7 million).
At the national level, investment rose in all building types. Single-family dwellings led the increase, with spending up 4.3 percent to C$2 billion (US$1.6 billion) in December. Row houses followed, with a 12.8 percent advance to C$337 million (US$269.3 million).
Spending in apartment and apartment-condominium building construction was up 3.3 percent to C$1.1 billion (US$0.9 billion), while investment in semi-detached dwellings rose 12 percent to C$216 million (US$172.6 million).
