The Census Bureau’s report on construction spending said that the value of multifamily residential construction put in place in September was down 0.2 percent from the upwardly revised level of the month before. Spending on single-family residential construction was reported to rise 1.3 percent while spending on improvements was up 0.2 percent.
The value of total private residential construction put in place in September 2023 was reported to be $872.0 billion on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis. This figure, which includes spending on both new construction and on improvements, was reported to be up $5.5 billion month-over-month, but only because August’s figure was revised sharply lower, falling $13.3 billion. Residential construction spending in September was reported to be down 2.2 percent year-over-year.
Multifamily construction spending higher
The value of new private construction of multifamily residential buildings put in place in September was reported to be $135.7 billion on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis. This was down $197 million from the revised level for August. However, the August figure was revised higher by $1.33 billion, so the preliminary multifamily construction spending figure reported this month is $1.13 billion, or 0.84 percent, higher than the preliminary figure for August reported last month. The value of multifamily housing construction put in place in September 2023 was 22.3 percent higher than the level of September 2022.
By comparison, the Census Bureau’s New Residential Construction report said the number of unit completions in September in buildings with 5 or more units rose 10.1 percent. Completions were 15 percent higher than their year-earlier level.
Governments were reported to have put $10.3 billion in residential construction in place in September on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis.
The value of new single-family residential construction put in place in September was $402.3 billion on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis. This was up $5.1 billion from the revised (+$819 million) level for August but was down 5.9 percent from the level of September 2022.
The value of improvements to residential buildings put in place in September was reported to be $334.1 billion on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis. This was up $180 million from the revised (-$15.5 billion) level for August and was down $21.8 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 is continuing its recent upward trend. The value of new single-family residential construction put in place has been recovering from the slide that began in June 2022. The value of improvements to residential buildings put in place remains 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.
