The Census Bureau’s report on construction spending stated that the value of multifamily residential construction put in place in May rose slightly from the revised level of the month before. Spending on single-family residential construction was reported to fall 1.83 percent while spending on improvements was up 0.9 percent.
This month, the Census Bureau revised their unadjusted construction spending data back to January 2023 and their seasonally adjusted construction spending data back to January 2018. Therefore, the figures in this month’s report are not directly comparable to those in last month’s report.
The value of total private residential construction put in place in May 2025 was reported to be $888.9 billion on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis. This figure, which includes spending on both new construction and improvements, was reported to be down $4.76 billion month-over-month. Residential construction spending in May was reported to be down 4.5 percent year-over-year.
Multifamily construction spending now rising
The value of new private construction of multifamily residential buildings put in place in May was reported to be $115.0 billion on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis. This was up $31 million (0.03 percent) from the revised level for the month before. The reported value of multifamily housing construction put in place in May was down 10.9 percent year-over-year.
The first chart shows the difference between the levels of multifamily construction put in place reported for the last two months and the levels reported this month. It shows the magnitude of the data revisions made this month by the Census Bureau. While earlier data had indicated that multifamily construction spending had been trending steadily lower, data in the latest report indicates that spending reached a low point in December 2024 and has been recovering since then.
For reference, the Census Bureau’s New Residential Construction report said the number of unit completions in buildings with 5 or more units rose slightly in May from the revised level of the month before. May completions were up 0.2 percent. Completions were down 6.7 percent from their year-earlier level.
The value of new single-family residential construction put in place in May was $421.3 billion on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis. This was down $7.85 billion from the revised level for April and was down 4.5 percent year-over-year.
Governments were reported to have put $12.2 billion in residential construction in place in May on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis.
The value of improvements to residential buildings put in place in May was reported to be $352.6 billion on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis. This was up $3.06 billion from the revised level for April but was down $29.92 billion from the year-earlier level. The Census Bureau does not separate out improvements for single-family and multifamily residential buildings.
Viewing long-term trends
The following chart shows the value of residential construction put in place each month since January 2017. It also shows the trend line for single-family and multifamily residential construction based on growth in construction spending during the period from January 2012 to July 2018.
The chart shows that, although the value of multifamily residential construction put in place may be rising, it continues to fall behind its earlier trend line.
The value of single-family construction put in place is also below its earlier trend and it turned sharply lower over the last two months.
The value of improvements put in place had been falling but it appears to have stabilized recently.
The report from the Census Bureau also includes information on spending on other types of construction projects. The full current report can be found here.
