More challenges for supply as home building slips

Home building slipped in June with both single-family and multi-family starts falling according to Dodge Data & Analytics

More challenges for supply as home building slips
Home building slipped in June with both single-family and multi-family starts falling according to Dodge Data & Analytics.

"Residential building so far in 2017 has been mixed, with some growth for single family housing earlier this year, while multifamily housing appears now to be trending downward after peaking in 2016,” said Dodge’s chief economist Robert A. Murray.

The annual rate of residential building was $274.9 billion in June, down 4% but single-family building was still 3% above the average monthly amount reported in 2016. Multi-family dropped 7%, the third straight month of decline.

By region, the first half of 2017 showed this performance for single family housing compared to last year – the South Atlantic, up 13%; the South Central, up 8%; the Midwest, up 7%; the West, up 5%; and the Northeast, up 1%.

Non-residential construction by contrast, jumped in June, up 13% to $249.5 billion and the commercial categories as a group climbed 23%, led by an 83% surge for new office building starts.

"The first half of 2017 has seen nonresidential building advance, reflecting further growth for office buildings and warehouses, combined with the boost coming from the start of several massive airport terminal projects such as the $3.4 billion Central Terminal Building at LaGuardia Airport in New York City," Murray added.