(RTTNews) - Canadian building permits increased for a second straight month in September as contractors looked to build more residential units, offsetting a decline in commercial building intentions.

Building permits increased 1.6% to $5.1 billion in September, beating expectations for an 1.3% rise but slower than the 7.38% jump seen in August.

The value of residential permits increased 9.4% to $3.2 billion, a level not seen since September 2008, mostly due to gains in the value of multi-family dwellings in Ontario and British Columbia.

In the non-residential sector, the value of permits fell 9.1% to $1.9 billion in September, mostly due to a commercial slowdown in British Columbia.

Municipalities took out $1.1 billion worth of building permits for multi-family dwellings, up 32.1% from August. Municipalities approved the construction of 15,250 new dwellings in September, up 13.3%.

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