[Photo credit: rachel___marie7 on Instagram]

Investments in residential construction rose by over 7 percent in Newfoundland and Labrador since 2015. According to Statistics Canada, 468 million dollars was spent on housing construction in 2016, an increase of over 30 million dollars from the same time last year. 

Newfoundland and Labrador had the fourth highest percentage increase in Canada and the largest among Atlantic Canadian provinces. The 7.3 percent increase in housing construction investments was roughly 5 points higher than the national rate. 

In Newfoundland, there was a drop-off in spending on new dwellings such as apartments, rows, singles and doubles. However, spending on housing renovations increased from about 278 million in 2015 to 336 million in 2016. 

Despite the increase in spending on housing construction, Newfoundland saw a decrease in spending on non-residential construction. The total non-residential spending in Newfoundland fell from 133 million in 2015 to 78 million in 2016.  Substantial decreases occurred in investments for industrial and commercial construction. 

The city of St. John's saw a similar decrease from 119 million in 2015 to 58 million in 2016. The decrease is worse than the national rate, which decreased only slightly. 

For a full look at the statistics, visit Statistics Canada. Here are the residential and non-residential construction investment statistics that were released.