Real estate construction spending rises

Private residential construction spending was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $520.7 billion in April, or 1.2 percent above the revised March estimate of $514.7 billion, the U.S. Department of Commerce reported today. In April 2003, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of private residential construction spending was $443.9 billion, or 17.3 percent lower than the April 2004 estimate. Total spending on private construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $739.9 billion in April 2004, or 1.2 percent above the revised March estimate of $731.1 billion.

Total construction put in place spending during April 2004 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $970.4 billion, or 1.3 above the revised March estimate of $957.6 billion, according to the U.S. Commerce Department's Census Bureau. The April figure is 11.3 percent above the April 2003 estimate of $871.9 billion. During the first four months of this year, construction spending amounted to $277.5 billion, 8.4 percent above the $256.1 billion recorded for the same period in 2003.

Month-to-month seasonally adjusted statistics can show irregular movements, the Commerce Department notes, and it can take as long as eight months to identify trends for specific categories of construction. Statistics for the current month are preliminary estimates subject to revision in following months as additional data become available.

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