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The Costs of Keeping Up with Housing Demand

construction-twoThe Census Bureau released its Construction Spending Report Monday morning revealing the data for August 2017. Estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,218.3 billion, construction spending was up 0.5 percent above July’s revised estimate of $1,189.1 billion.

According to the release, the first eight months of 2017 had 4.7 percent more construction spending than the same period in 2016, from $769.9 billion to $806.2 billion in 2017.

Of the $1,218.3 billion in total spending, $954.8 billion was spent in private construction, which is up 0.4 percent from the July estimate of $950.5 billion. Residential construction was also up 0.4 percent in August 2017 from an estimated $518.6 billion in July to $520.9 billion in August.

Concerning how Hurricanes Harvey and Irma affected the construction numbers, the Census Bureau said though data on total construction spending is only available on a national level, the annual estimates of private nonresidential construction spending by state show Florida and Texas together represented approximately 22 percent of U.S. private nonresidential construction spending in 2016.

“Response to the Construction Progress Reporting Surveys for August data from the jurisdictions affected by both hurricanes was not significantly lower than normal,” the Census Bureau reported. “Hurricane Harvey impacted construction activity in Texas only for the last week of the month and Hurricane Irma did not have an impact until September.”

The Bureau said completely rebuilt projects of structures that have been destroyed by the hurricanes will be included in construction spending figures, but money spent on demolition and cleanup will be excluded. However, for single-family residential construction, 100 percent rebuilds will be counted if the permit is issued as new construction by the permit office.

“However, most damaged homes are not completely rebuilt, but are considered repairs, which are not included in these statistics,” the Bureau said.

About Author: Brianna Gilpin

Brianna Gilpin, Online Editor for MReport and DS News, is a graduate of Texas A&M University where she received her B.A. in Telecommunication Media Studies. Gilpin previously worked at Hearst Media, one of the nation's leading diversified media and information services companies. To contact Gilpin, email [email protected].
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