New Construction Up 2%
New construction across the United States advanced 2 percent in August over July, buoyed by increases in home construction, as well as in public works and electric utilities, according to McGraw Hill Construction, a division of McGraw Hill Financial.
Construction spending rose at a seasonally adjusted rate of $490.2 billion during the month, McGraw Hill said. Residential building continued to climb, while “non building” construction - public works and electric utilities - rebounded after losing momentum in July. That sector continued an up-and-down pattern that it has exhibited so far this year, McGraw Hill said.
In the residential sector, construction of single-family homes rose 2 percent, although the percentage was slightly higher in the Northeast, at 3 percent. Meanwhile, construction of multi-family housing shot up 12 percent, the second highest monthly advance this year, according to McGraw Hill. The report cited Boston as one of the top five metropolitan areas for multi-family housing starts in August.
The downside in the report lay in non-residential building, which includes the business and nonprofit sectors. McGraw Hill said construction starts there fell 8 percent to an annual rate of $148.9 million, with a notable 44-percent drop in new health-care facilities, a month after it showed improvement. The report cited several factors in the drop, including uncertainty related to implementation of federal health care reform, plus an increase in hospital mergers.
In addition, transportation terminal work dropped 50 percent from its July level.
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