It is not unusual for the city to record more than $1 billion in construction in a year, but never has Hamilton managed the milestone in less than eight months.

City of Hamilton chief building official Ed VanderWindt announced Tuesday that the city has officially surpassed the threshold, marking the earliest point in a calendar year that the city has crossed the $1-billion milestone.

The city's previous record was nine months, set last year in 2018.

The results are significant because building activity is an important economic indicator and show the construction sector remains strong after several years of steady growth.

"Hamilton's economy continues to be a progressive success story — reaching new heights like this one year after year," said Glen Norton, Hamilton's director of economic development.

The milestone draws from 4,719 building projects in the residential, institutional, commercial and industrial sectors. The value of Industrial building permits in the first seven months of this year was up 151 per cent over the average of the last three years, compared to 14.4 per cent for the residential building sector.

A media release from the city said, the results are "attributable to several factors, one of the most important being the continued movement of people and businesses to Hamilton from other parts of the region. Other factors would include the success of many of our local businesses, leading to their expansion."

Mayor Fred Eisenberger was quoted in the release as saying, "This important milestone sends a strong message that the momentum in Hamilton is real. With major investments and development happening now and into the future, I am proud of the dedication of city staff and building partners as we continue to work together to create employment opportunities and ensure Hamilton's transformation can and will move forward."