Construction spending beat economist expectations with a slight gain in September, according to the latest data from Census Bureau.
- M-O-M: Construction spending was up 0.2% to an estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.81 trillion in September.
- Y-O-Y: Construction spending was up 10.9% when compared to the same time last year.
Better Than Expected. Economists had projected that spending would fall 0.5% in September.
Residential. Total residential spending was unchanged at $927B in September and is now up 12.6% when compared to September 2021.
- Single-family construction, unfortunately, was down 2.6% for the month and is now down 2.7% year-over-year.
- Multifamily was up 0.3% for the month and is now up 1.9% when compared to September 2021.
BOTTOM LINE: With homebuilder confidence falling every month this year it is definitely a nice surprise to see construction spending up in September.