Construction spending fell by 0.2 percent during the month of July and came in at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of $958 billion. In June, construction spending was estimated to be $959.5 billion.
In the first seven months of the year, construction spending totaled $543.8 billion, which represents an 11.4 percent during the same time period in 2008. During the first seven months of last year, construction spending came to $613.5 billion.
Private construction saw an increase of 0.1 percent during the month, with spending climbing to $630.4 billion from $629.6 billion in June. Residential construction saw an increase of 2.3 percent to $245.6 in July. Nonresidental construction dropped by 1.2 percent to an annually-adjusted rate of $384.9 billion.
Construction spending on public projects also saw a drop during July and was down 0.7 percent to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of $327.6 billion.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, new home sales were at an annual rate of 433,000 during the month of July, which represents a 9.6 percent increase over June.
