A Detailed Look at Private Residential Construction Spending in October

A closer look at the US Census Bureau’s Construction Spending report for October, with additional analysis provided by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), reveals that private residential construction rose 1.2% in October, after a drop in September. At a seasonally adjusted annual pace of $884 billion, total private residential construction spending was 0.7% higher year-over-year. This was the first year-over-year increase since December 2022, NAHB said.

Additional spending on single-family construction and improvement was a major factor in the total construction monthly spending increase. In October, spending on single-family construction increased 1.1%. The NAHB noted that it was the sixth consecutive monthly increase since April. Compared to October 2022, spending on single-family construction was 1.4% lower.

In October, multifamily construction spending declined 0.2%—the result of a large number of multifamily housing units being under construction and the rental vacancy rate increasing to 6.6% in the Q3 (from a record low of 5.6%). Private residential improvement spending increased 2% in October but was 2% lower compared to a year ago.