Construction spending fell in November, a decline that can likely be traced in part to Hurricane Sandy. Overall, spending fell 0.3% during the month, according to Census Bureau data. Year-over-year spending was up 7.7%.
But while residential activity slowed, the decline came from the nonresidential sector, for which private spending was down 0.7% on a monthly basis. Private residential spending was up 0.4% from October, and when residential improvements—a poorly estimated category—are subtracted, the monthly gain rises to an improvement of 1.2%, though it still marked the smallest rise in eight months.
Single-family homes saw a 1.3% improvement in spending, while multifamily spending contracted to a gain of 0.5%.
Spending on public construction projects was down 0.4%.
