Private Residential Construction Spending Rises Month-Over-Month and Year-Over-Year in November

A closer look at the US Census Bureau’s Construction Spending Report for November, with additional analysis provided by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), reveals that private residential construction spending increased 1.1% in November, following a 2% increase in October. Spending stood at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $897 billion. Year-over-year, private residential construction spending was up 3.7%.

The monthly increase for total construction spending is credited to more co single-family and multifamily construction. Spending on single-family construction rose 2.9% in November. The NAHB notes that the gain is consistent with the dramatic increase of single-family starts in November, since a lack of existing homes for sale is boosting new construction. It also marks the seventh consecutive monthly increase since April 2023.

Year-over-year, spending on single-family construction was 5.5% higher. Multifamily construction spending was only 0.1% higher, as a large stock of multifamily housing is under construction. Private residential improvement spending declined 0.8% and was 2% lower than a year ago.

The NAHB notes that private nonresidential construction spending was up 19.3% from a year ago. The annual private nonresidential spending increase was mainly due to spending on manufacturing, up $78 billion, followed by $12 billion in the power category.