July New Construction Spending at 7-Year High

For the first seven months of 2014, new construction spending is up 9.3% at an estimated total of $583.2 billion, compared with the seven-month total of $533.7 billion in 2014.

The consensus estimate by economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a rise of 0.8% in construction spending for July.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of spending on private residential construction rose 1.1% to $380.82 billion, compared with the revised June total of $376.59 billion. Private nonresidential construction rose 1.5% month over month, and total private construction spending rose 1.3% to $787.8 billion, compared with the revised June total of $777.4 billion.

In the private sector, single-family residential construction is 14.2% higher than it was a year ago, and multifamily construction is up 25.5% from July 2014. Private, nonresidential construction is up 11.5% year over year.

In the public sector, seasonally adjusted total spending is down 1% compared with June and up 6.1% compared with July 2014. Spending on educational facilities fell 3% month over month, but it is up 2.6% from July 2014 spending. Public residential construction slipped 0.1% month over month but rose 29% compared with July 2014.

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