The U.S. Census Bureau announced that construction spending during January 2019 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.28 trillion, rising 1.3% from the revised December estimate of $1.26 trillion.
Notably, January’s spending is 0.3% above the January 2018 estimate of $1.276 trillion.
Spending on private construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $966 billion, 0.2% above the revised December estimate of $964.2 billion.
Of that, residential construction spending was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $511.4 billion in January, which is 0.3% below the revised December estimate of $512.9 billion.
That being said, January’s increase in construction spending mirrors positive growth in homebuilder confidence.
In fact, January’s Housing Market Index revealed homebuilder confidence increased two points to 58, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo.
This is due to declining mortgage rates, which propelled the index after a steady decrease in confidence in November and December 2018.
“The gradual decline in mortgage rates in recent weeks helped to sustain builder sentiment,” NAHB Chairman Randy Noel said in a statement. “Low unemployment, solid job growth and favorable demographics should support housing demand in the coming months.”
