A builder works on the the roof of a new home under construction in the Montreal suburb of Brossard
A builder works on the the roof of a new home under construction in the Montreal suburb of Brossard, August 10, 2010. Canadian housing starts fell in July for a third straight month and new home prices rose less than expected in June, further evidence that the housing boom that helped drive the country's recovery from recession is starting to stall. Reuters

The value of Canadian building permits declined by 3.6 percent in November, largely as expected, after an 11.6 percent rise in October, Statistics Canada said on Monday.

The decline was the result of a partial reversal of the 31.9 percent October spike in the non-residential sector, which fell by 17.6 percent in November. The trend for the sector over 2011 was still upward.

Permits for commercial buildings fell by 5.1 percent and industrial permits were off by 12.3 percent.

The residential sector saw a 6.9 percent rise after three consecutive declines. Single-family dwellings were up 8.2 percent and multi-family units by 5.0 percent.

The median forecast in a Reuters survey of analysts was for a 3.0 percent overall decline in November.

The biggest factor in October's decline was a 34.1 percent slide in the institutional component after a 178.8 percent leap in October, largely in medical facilities and government buildings.

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