Data Analysis

Construction spending ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,186.1 billion in September 2026, 1.9 percent below a revised August, as private residential spending fell 5.5 percent to $848.8 billion.

Census Bureau figures released November 2 show residential spending down 5.5% while new single-family and multifamily spending held flat.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported on November 2, 2026 that construction spending in September 2026 ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,186.1 billion, 1.9 percent (plus or minus 0.7 percent) below the revised August estimate of $2,227.4 billion and 2.7 percent (plus or minus 1.5 percent) below the September 2025 figure of $2,245.8 billion. Private residential construction fell 5.5 percent (plus or minus 1.3 percent) to an $848.8 billion annual rate. Across the first nine months of 2026, construction spending totaled $1,649.6 billion, 2.9 percent (plus or minus 1.0 percent) below the $1,698.6 billion spent over the same months of 2025.

Unlike August, when most of the release sat inside its own margin of error, September's decline is measurable. Four of the seven categories the Census Bureau publishes with confidence intervals moved by more than that interval.

How much did construction spending fall in September 2026?

Total construction spending fell $41.2 billion at an annual rate, from $2,227.4 billion in August to $2,186.1 billion in September. The 90 percent confidence interval of plus or minus 0.7 percent puts the change between minus 2.6 and minus 1.2 percent, so zero is excluded and the decline is statistically significant by the rule the Census Bureau prints in the release.

Private construction carried the drop. It fell 2.4 percent (plus or minus 0.5 percent) to a $1,639.3 billion annual rate. Public construction was $546.8 billion, 0.1 percent (plus or minus 1.3 percent) below August, a change that cannot be told apart from no change.

Which construction categories actually moved?

Applying the release's own rule to each category gives this result:

• Total construction: down 1.9 percent, plus or minus 0.7. Significant.
• Private construction: down 2.4 percent, plus or minus 0.5. Significant.
• Private residential: down 5.5 percent, plus or minus 1.3. Significant.
• Private nonresidential: up 1.1 percent, plus or minus 0.5, to $790.6 billion. Significant.
• Public construction: down 0.1 percent, plus or minus 1.3. Not significant.
• Public educational: $113.1 billion, which the Census Bureau describes as virtually unchanged, plus or minus 1.3. Not significant.
• Public highway and street: down 0.3 percent, plus or minus 3.6, to $149.2 billion. Not significant.

The split is clear. Housing went down, and the nonresidential side of private construction kept rising.

Why did residential construction spending drop 5.5 percent?

The drop did not come from new homes. The release's Table 1 shows new single-family construction at a $403.4 billion annual rate in September against $403.5 billion in August, a change the table rounds to 0.0 percent. New multifamily was $115.9 billion, up 0.1 percent from $115.8 billion.

The residential line in Table 1 also includes private residential improvements, which the table does not print as a separate row. Subtracting new single-family and new multifamily from the residential total leaves $329.5 billion in September against $378.7 billion in August, a fall of 13.0 percent. On that arithmetic, which is this desk's and not a figure the Census Bureau publishes, nearly all of the $49.2 billion residential decline sits in the improvements and other residential portion.

That portion also explains why August looked strong. The same subtraction gives $347.7 billion for July and $378.7 billion for August, a jump that September then more than reversed. Improvement spending is among the more volatile pieces of the series, so one month's swing in either direction deserves caution.

How big was the revision to August?

Large. When August was first published on October 1, 2026, the Census Bureau put total construction at a $2,203.1 billion annual rate. The November 2 release revises it to $2,227.4 billion, an increase of $24.3 billion, or 1.1 percent. The release states that the average absolute revision from preliminary estimate to first revision is 0.65 percent for total construction, so August moved about 1.7 times the average.

Private residential moved further, from $882.3 billion as first published to $898.0 billion, a 1.8 percent revision against a stated average of 0.75 percent for private construction. As revised, August total construction now shows a gain of about 2.0 percent from July. It was first reported as a 0.9 percent gain.

That revision matters for reading September. Measured against the August residential figure as first published, September's $848.8 billion is 3.8 percent lower. Part of the size of the September drop comes from a higher August starting point.

Is construction spending down year over year?

Yes. September 2026 was 2.7 percent (plus or minus 1.5 percent) below September 2025, an interval of minus 4.2 to minus 1.2 percent that excludes zero. The nine-month total is 2.9 percent (plus or minus 1.0 percent) below 2025, a gap of $49.0 billion in actual spending.

Private residential was 8.9 percent below its September 2025 rate of $931.2 billion. New single-family was down 2.4 percent and new multifamily down 0.2 percent over the year. Private nonresidential was 2.3 percent higher than a year earlier. The release prints no margin of error for these category comparisons, so their significance is not stated.

Among the months Table 1 prints (September 2025 and May through September 2026), September's private residential rate of $848.8 billion is the lowest.

What does this mean for Florida housing?

The construction spending release is national. It carries no state or metro figures and does not mention Florida. What it does show is that the national building pipeline for new homes held steady in dollar terms in September while remodeling and improvement spending pulled back.

For Florida's new-home side, the more direct reads are the Census Bureau's September housing starts and new home sales, along with builder sentiment in the October NAHB index. Supply of homes already built is covered in the third-quarter vacancy and homeownership release. Financing costs are in the latest Freddie Mac mortgage rate survey. For prices, inventory and days on market in each Florida metro, see the Florida housing tracker and the market pages for Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa and Miami. The August construction spending report covers the prior month.

People also ask

Did construction spending go up or down in September 2026?

Down. The Census Bureau estimated September 2026 construction spending at a $2,186.1 billion seasonally adjusted annual rate, 1.9 percent below the revised August figure of $2,227.4 billion. The margin of error was plus or minus 0.7 percent, so the decline is statistically significant.

How much did residential construction spending fall in September 2026?

Private residential construction fell 5.5 percent (plus or minus 1.3 percent) to an $848.8 billion annual rate from $898.0 billion in August. New single-family spending was flat at $403.4 billion and new multifamily rose 0.1 percent to $115.9 billion.

When is the next construction spending report?

The Census Bureau's next construction spending release, covering October 2026, is scheduled for December 1, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Does the construction spending report include Florida?

No. The monthly construction spending release is national and publishes no state or metro figures. Florida building activity is better read from state permit and housing starts data.

Limitations

The September figures are preliminary and will be revised on December 1. The August revision in this release, 1.1 percent on total spending and 1.8 percent on private residential, shows how far a first estimate can move.

Significance calls in this article are this desk's arithmetic on the 90 percent confidence intervals the Census Bureau publishes, using the rule printed in the release. The Census Bureau does not label categories significant or not.

The improvements and other residential figure is derived by subtracting new single-family and new multifamily from the Table 1 residential total. The Census Bureau does not print it as a separate row in this table, and rounding in the components carries into it.

The release was read from census.gov twice, once from the current release page and once from the release PDF, with a third read of the PDF limited to transcribing Table 1. All three agreed on every figure quoted. The first-reported August figures come from the October 1, 2026 release. Monthly figures are seasonally adjusted annual rates; the nine-month comparison is actual spending and is not interchangeable with them.

Sources

U.S. Census Bureau, Monthly Construction Spending, September 2026, release CB26-176, November 2, 2026, 10:00 a.m.: census.gov/construction/c30/pdf/release.pdf

U.S. Census Bureau, Construction Spending, current release page: census.gov/construction/c30/current/index.html

U.S. Census Bureau, Value of Construction Put in Place, seasonally adjusted annual rate table, November 2, 2026: census.gov/construction/c30/pdf/totsa.pdf

U.S. Census Bureau, Monthly Construction Spending, August 2026, October 1, 2026 (first-reported August figures)

U.S. Census Bureau, Economic Indicator Calendar 2026: census.gov/economic-indicators/calendar-listview-2026.html

Disclosure: Jon Brooks is a co-founder of Momentum Realty, a Florida real estate brokerage that owns and funds Florida Housing Intelligence. Momentum has a financial interest in Florida real estate transactions, including in markets named here. See our editorial standards.