July Gains in Private Residential Construction Spending
It was shown that private residential construction spending rose 1.4% in July, which followed a 1.5% increase in June and 3.5% in May via a National Association of Home Builders analysis of Census Construction Spending data. Though spending stood still at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of $879 billion, total total private residential construction spending remained 5.5% lower compared to a year ago.
According to Eye On Housing, the total construction monthly increase is attributed to more spending on all three categories: single-family, multifamily construction, and improvements. Spending on single-family construction rose 2.8% in July after an increase of 1.9% in June. Compared to a year ago, spending on single-family construction was 15.2% lower. Multifamily construction spending inched up 0.2% in July, and was 24.6% over the July 2022 estimates, largely due to the strong demand for rental apartments. Private residential improvement spending edged up 0.3% in July and was 2% lower compared to a year ago.
