Further Analysis of U.S. Census Bureau Construction Spending Data for May

A deeper dive into the U.S. Census Bureau Construction Spending data, for May, with further analysis provided by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reveals that that total private residential construction spending rose 0.2% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $751.7 billion. Total private residential construction spending year-over-year is 28.7% higher. The strong May monthly gains are credited to the strong growth of spending on single-family construction. Single-family construction spending rose to a $402.3 billion annual pace in May, up by 0.8% over the April estimates. It has increased by 46.1% on a year-over-year basis and this aligns with the steady reading of single-family housing starts. Multifamily construction spending was virtually unchanged at a $99.3 billion annual pace in May but is 25.6% higher than a year ago. Spending on improvements dipped by 0.6% in May, after staying flat in April. Private nonresidential construction spending decreased 1.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $451.6 billion in May. And it was 5.8% lower than a year ago.