By Manuel Gutierrez, Consulting Economist to NKBA
Spending on residential projects remained unchanged in September at an annualized rate of $918 billion — a modest improvement over the preceding three months, which each saw declines.
- September’s flat performance is the result of a sharp decline in new single-family home construction, balanced by increases in new multifamily homes and homeowner remodeling.
- Homeowner remodeling expenditures increased 2.9 percent to an annualized $393 billion. That rate has been improving since 2019, with current spending more than double since then when it was running at $160 billion (annualized).
- Spending on single-family construction dropped 2.6 percent to $424 billion (annualized), marking four straight months of declines. The category peaked at $581 billion in April.
- Multifamily construction expenditures edged up 0.3 percent to an annual rate of $102 billion — which has been fairly consistent over the past 12 months.
- Residential construction spending, which has been steadily rising since mid-2020, peaked at $945 billion in May but has since been slipping. Non-residential construction has been climbing for the past few months, ticking up 1 percent in September to $532 billion, and 11 percent ahead of September 2021.
