This indicator measures the value of building permits issued annually, by regional district and select municipalities. Data for this indicator were compiled by Statistics Canada and processed by BC Stats. Housing starts and building permits are well accepted indicators of economic performance (Stock & Watson, 1989; Gaudreault, Lamy & Yiu, 2003). Housing starts tend to pick up at the beginning of a business cycle, and taper at the initial signs of economic slowdown. This is reflective of changing consumer expectations, coupled with interest rates (typically low during the emergence from a recession, and increasing in response to economic growth).