The pace of construction spending in July reached the highest level since December 2008, improving to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $981.3 billion, a 1.8 percent increase from June's upwardly revised estimate of $963.7 billion – originally estimated at $950.2 billion. The July rate was 8.7 percent higher year-over-year, estimated at $906.6 billion in July 2013, according to a September 2 report from the Census Bureau.

Total residential spending reached an annual rate of $363.5 billion, compared to $360.8 billion in June and $337.9 billion a year earlier, increases of 0.7 and 7.6 percent respectively. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, total construction spending in July was $88.6 billion, compared to $86.70 billion in June and $83.3 billion a year earlier. Non-seasonally adjusted residential spending was $33.3 billion.

Through the end of July, the 2014 estimate for construction put in place is $535.4 billion. This is 7.9 percent higher than the year-to-date figure for the same period in 2013 of $496.3 billion. Residential construction for the year-to-date was $202.6 billion, a 9.3 percent gain from 2013.

Private construction outlays in July reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $701.7 billion, up 1.4 percent from the revised June estimate of $692.2 billion, and 10.9 percent higher than spending in July 2013, at a $632.7 billion rate.

Total spending on private construction was up 11.3 percent from year-to-date expenditures in 2013 at a total of $387.3 billion. Year-to-date spending on residential construction was $199.7 billion at the end of June, a 9.8 percent increase from the same period in 2013. There was again a significant increase in multi-family construction spending; $23.8 billion has been spent so far in 2014, a 35.8 percent increase year-over-year. On a non-adjusted basis, total private construction in July totaled $61.5 billion and residential construction $32.85 billion.

Private residential spending was at a rate of $358.1 billion compared to $355.6 billion in June and $331.5 billion in July 2013, increases of 0.7 percent and 8.0 percent. Single family construction comprised $187.1 billion of the total and multifamily construction $43.3 billion. The multifamily expenditures were 41 percent higher than in July 2013.

Total public sector construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $279.6 billion, a 3.0 percent increase from June's estimate of $271.5 billion. So far in 2014 public construction has totaled $148.2 billion, virtually unchanged from the same time last year.