Private Sector Lifts Construction Spending near 5-Year High

Spending on residential construction increased by 1.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from October to November while overall construction spending was up 1.0 percent the Census Bureau said today.  Total construction spending was at an annualized rate of $934.41 billion, the highest since March 2009, and up from $925.07 billion in October.  Residential spending was at a rate of $350.98 billion versus $345.05 billion.

On a year-over-year basis, spending on residential construction was even stronger, up 16.0 percent while overall spending increased only 5.9 percent.  The November 2012 numbers were $882.69 billion and $302.70 billion respectively.

Total private construction was at a seasonally adjusted rate of $659.40 billion compared to $644.91 billion in October, a 2.2 percent increase, and 8.6 percent above the $607.19 billion posted in November 2012.  Privately funding residential construction was at an annual rate of $345.53 billion in November.  This was an increase of 1.9 percent from October's estimate of $339.23 and an increase of 16.6 percent from the November 2012 figure of $296.40 billion.

Publicly funded construction declined 1.8 percent from $280.16 billion in October to $275.01 billion in November and was down 0.2 percent from $275.49 billion a year earlier.  Publicly funded residential construction dollars were estimated at $5.45 billion, down 6.4 percent from $5.82 billion in October and 13.4 percent below public residential construction dollars estimated at $6.29 billion in November 2012.

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis private residential construction through November has totaled $304.89 billion compared to $259.17 billion through November 2012.  Of the 2013 dollars, $155.44 billion has gone to single family construction, an increase of 28.4 percent from 2012, and $29.19 billion has been spent on multi-family construction, an increase of 45.4 percent from the $20.07 billion that was spent thus far in 2012.