Residential Construction Spending Rises

Single-family construction finally showed signs of recovery from the drop off in building following the expiration of the home buyer tax credit-its first monthly increase since April, rising 0.6 percent from October to $107.1 billion. Courtesy of NAHB

Residential construction spending increased for the third month in a row in November, this time with contributions to spending from all three sectors of residential construction-single-family construction, multifamily construction and improvements. This is welcome news for the landscape industry, which has been hoping for construction numbers to improve.

Total nominal construction spending was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $810.2 billion, up 0.4 percent from the revised October estimate of $806.7 billion, and 6 percent below the year earlier reading of $861.5 billion.

Spending on private construction was $491.8 billion SAAR, essentially flat from October's $490.5 billion. Year-to-date, it was down 14.8 percent to $468.2 billion NSA from $549.7 billion for the same period a year ago.

Private residential construction spending was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $235.7 billion, statistically unchanged from October's $234.1 billion, while November's NSA year-to-date spending dropped 1.2 percent to $225.4 billion from $228.2 billion for the same period in 2009.

- Courtesy of NAHB