Construction starts fell 3% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $854.8 billion, according to Dodge Data & Analytics.

All three major sectors—residential, nonresidential building and nonbuildings—moved lower in July. Richard Branch, chief economist for Dodge Data & Analytics, says construction material prices continue to weigh on starts.

"Lumber and copper prices have fallen in recent weeks; however, steel, plastic and other construction-related products are continuing their ascent, "Branch said in a prepared statement. "These increases will continue to impact construction starts over the coming months, somewhat muting the impact of stronger economic activity."

Continue Reading for Free

Register and gain access to:

  • Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

Leslie Shaver

Les Shaver has been covering commercial and residential real estate for almost 20 years. His work has appeared in Multifamily Executive, Builder, units, Arlington Magazine in addition to GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum.