Private residential construction in the US got off to an auspicious start in 2017, continuing the growth trend that began in October of last year. NAHB analysis of Census Construction Spending data, released March 1, shows that total private residential construction spending grew 0.5 per cent in January 2017 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of US$476.4 billion.
Multifamily construction spending in January grew by 2.2 per cent to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of US$63.5 billion, more than double that of December.
US Housing Starts: February 2017
US housing starts increased 3.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.29 million units last month, the Commerce Department said. Home building was up 6.2 per cent compared to February 2016.
Starts for the volatile multi-family housing segment fell 3.7 per cent to a pace of 416,000 units.