A steady increase in multifamily construction spending has total residential construction spending on the rise. According to NAHB analysis of Census construction spending data, total private residential construction spending for September increased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $395 billion.
On a month-over-month basis, private single-family spending was $222 billion, up by 1.3% over the revised August estimate. Private multifamily spending increased to $57 billion, up by 5%. Annually, the pace of multifamily spending rose 27% from the September 2014 estimate, and spending on single-family construction was 13% higher.
The NAHB-constructed spending index is shown in the graph below (the base is January 2000). NAHB believes the pace of multifamily spending is gradually slowing. They anticipate accelerated growth for single-family spending in 2015.
Credit: NAHB
The pace of total nonresidential construction spending dipped by 0.1% monthly in September, but the annual increase from the revised September 2014 estimate was 12.4%. The largest contribution to this year-over-year nonresidential spending gain was made by the class of manufacturing-related construction (41% increase), followed by lodging (33% increase) and amusement/recreation (31% increase).
Credit: NAHB
