Construction Spending Climbed 1.2% in November

Homebuilders spent more on construction in November last year than in any month before August, with figures for new residences climbing by 1.2 percent above October estimates.

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Fielding the numbers Tuesday, the ""Commerce Department"":http://www.commerce.gov/ reported that construction spending overall hovered at around $807.1 billion ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô figures that the ""_Washington Post_"":http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/construction-spending-increased-12-percent-in-november-led-by-gains-in-housing/2012/01/03/gIQABehCYP_story.html said economists argue fall below more than a trillion dollars in output needed to stimulate the economy.

Private residential construction topped off at $243.7 billion on a seasonally adjusted basis in November, 2 percent above revisions from October which ball-parked figures around $238.9 billion.

Single-family home construction moved forward at a steady clip by rising 1.5 percent, with nonresidential construction

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staying nearly the same as in October with about $278 billion or so in reported expenditures.

Multifamily construction fell below single-family homes by rising only 1.3 percent ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô a number with uncertain meaning as interest in rental properties remains historically high for the nation.

Experts suggested in past interviews with _MReport_ that high unemployment numbers and still-anemic job growth help keep consumer confidence in the doldrums, leading more otherwise eligible first-time and repeat homebuyers to scrimp on a mortgage in favor of a leasing contract.

Past reports from the ""National Association of Realtors"":http://www.realtor.org/ also lean toward scuttled appraisals and contract bids, which often help interrupt pending-home sales and homeowners in the process of closing on properties.

The _Post_ said that new homes offer to create a tremendous impact in a still-weak economy, with each new home capable of generating three jobs on average each year and $90,000 in tax revenue for state and federal coffers.

The latest construction figures from November follow a tide of eleventh-hour good news from the industry as a whole.

Just before the holidays, the Commerce Department reported that new single-family home sales inched forward by 1.6 percent in November, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 315,000 units.