Residential Construction Spending Increases in August

The U.S. Census Bureau reported Thursday that residential construction spending increased 0.7 percent in August to an estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,086.2 billion from the upwardly revised estimate of $1,079.1 billion in July.

According to the Bureau's report, construction spending is 13.7 percent above the August 2014 estimate of $955.0 billion.

In the first eight months of 2015, construction spending totaled $683.4 billion, 9.8 percent above the $622.4 billion for the same period in 2014.

Photo Courtesy of National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)

The report showed that spending on private construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $788.0 billion, 0.7 percent above the revised July estimate of $782.3 billion.

Residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $383.3 billion in August, 1.3 percent above the revised July estimate of $378.5 billion. Meanwhile, nonresidential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $404.7 billion in August, 0.2 percent above the revised July estimate of $403.8 billion.

New single-family construction spending reached $218,828 million in August, up 0.7 percent from $217,265 million recorded in July, and up 14.0 percent from last August.

The estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of public construction spending was $298.2 billion in August, 0.5 percent above the revised July estimate of $296.8 billion, the report stated.

Educational construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $67.4 billion, the Bureau reported. This is 0.2 percent below the revised July estimate of $67.5 billion. Highway construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $90.4 billion, 0.4 percent below the revised July estimate of $90.7 billion.