Private Residential Construction Spending Up

 

Courtesy of NAHB

Private residential construction spending began the year on a positive note. The US Census Bureau release of January construction spending indicated that private residential construction spending rose 5.3 percent to $245.6 billion from an upwardly revised $233.2 billion in December.

The home buyer tax credit program (HBTC) has greatly influenced private residential construction spending over the past year, with strong gains in single-family construction expenditure and expenditure on home improvements prior the conclusion of the program in April 2010, followed by a sharp decline in the subsequent months.

Multifamily construction expenditure has been less affected by HBTC, as the multifamily sector is dominated by rental housing. The recent improvement in single-family construction expenditure and expenditure on home improvements indicates that the influence of HBTC is fading.

Despite the improvement in private residential construction spending, total nominal construction spending fell 0.7 percent in January, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $791.8 billion.  This follows a 1.6 percent decline to an upwardly revised $797.6 in December.

- Courtesy of NAHB