Residential Construction Spending Slips in 2018

Construction spending in December 2018 saw a nearly 1% dip compared to the previous month, according to a recent release from Wells Fargo. With this drop, spending in construction for all of 2018 saw its slowest growth since 2011, growing by just over 4%.

The release said this slowdown comes from "sluggish new homebuilding activity," which impacted overall spending. Residential spending saw the slowest increase overall for 2018, coming in at a 3.3% increase, the slowest in more than five years.

Despite residential spending struggling, private nonresidential spending rose 0.4% in December 2018 and 3.5% for all of last year. Projects related to offices, lodging and transportation contributed to this growth. Public nonresidential fell in contrast by 0.6% in December 2018 yet increased by 6.6% for all of last year.

—Christie Citranglo, editorial associate