The Census Bureau’s report on construction spending said that the value of multifamily residential construction put in place in August was up 0.6 percent month-over-month. Spending on single-family residential construction rose 1.7 percent while spending on improvements was down 0.7 percent.
Multifamily construction spending higher
The value of total private residential construction put in place in August 2023 was reported to be $879.9 billion on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis. This figure, which includes spending on both new construction and on improvements, was up $5.2 billion from July’s revised (-$4.3 billion) figure. Residential construction spending in August was reported to be down 3.1 percent year-over-year.
The value of new private construction of multifamily residential buildings put in place in August was reported to be $134.5 billion on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis. This was up $800 million from the revised (+$338 million) level for July. The value of multifamily housing construction put in place in August 2023 was 24.0 percent higher than the level of August 2022.
By comparison, the Census Bureau’s New Residential Construction report said the number of unit completions in August in buildings with 5 or more units rose 46 percent after a sharp 39 percent decline the month before. Completions were 32 percent higher than their year-earlier level.
Governments were reported to have put $9.9 billion in residential construction in place in August on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis.
The value of new single-family residential construction put in place in August was $396.4 billion on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis. This was up $6.7 billion from the revised (-$181 million) level for July and was down 10.6 percent from the level of August 2022.
The value of improvements to residential buildings put in place in August was reported to be $349.0 billion on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis. This was down $2.3 billion from the revised (-$4.5 billion) level for July and was down $13.0 billion from the year-earlier level. The Census Bureau does not separate out improvements for single-family and multifamily residential buildings.
Charting the data
The following chart shows the value of residential construction put in place each month since January 2012. The chart illustrates that the reported value of new multifamily residential construction put in place has been trending higher. The value of new single-family residential construction put in place has been rising since reaching a recent low in May. The value of improvements to residential buildings put in place is at the low end of the range it has occupied since February 2022.
The report from the Census Bureau also includes information on spending on other types of construction projects. The full report can be found here.
