Real estate construction spending up 9.4%

Private residential construction spending was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $551.6 billion in September, which is 0.2 percent (plus or minus 1.8 percent) below the revised August estimate of $553 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today.

That represents a gain of 13.1 percent over the September 2003 seasonally adjusted rate of $487.6 billion. The seasonally adjusted rate projects a monthly construction spending total over a 12-month period.

Total U.S. construction put in place spending during September 2004 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.01 trillion, nearly the same as the August estimate. The September figure is 8.9 percent (plus or minus 1.9 percent) above the September 2003 estimate of $930.8 billion.

During the first nine months of this year, construction spending amounted to $741.2 billion, or 9.4 percent (plus or minus 1.6 percent) above the $677.8 billion reported for the same period in 2003.

Spending on all private construction, including residential and non-residential construction, was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $777.5 billion, which is 0.1 percent (plus or minus 1.8 percent) below the revised August estimate of $778.4 billion.

Total public construction spending was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $236.4 billion, which is 0.3 percent higher than the August 2004 rate and 3 percent above the September 2003 rate.

Public residential construction spending was $8.34 billion, which is roughly even with the August 2004 rate and 18.5 percent above the September 2003 rate.

Month-to-month changes in seasonally adjusted statistics often show movements which may be irregular, the Census Bureau reported, and it may take two months to establish an underlying trend for total construction and as long as eight months for specific categories of construction. October 2004 construction spending data will be released at 10 a.m. EST on Dec. 1, 2004.

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