Construction starts in South Florida on the rise in November

(Credit: Max Pixel)

Despite ongoing decreases in residential construction this year, last month’s dip wasn’t enough to reduce overall construction starts in South Florida.

In November, total construction starts increased 7 percent to $611.7 million from the year prior, according to a new Dodge Data & Analytics report.

Commercial construction continued to outpace residential, with new commercial starts increasing 55 percent to about $321 million last month compared to November 2016. Meanwhile, residential starts declined 21 percent to $290 million.

Year to date, construction spending fell slightly, down 7 percent last month to $10.1 billion from $10.9 billion the previous year, according to the report. Commercial starts increased 32 percent to $5.4 billion for the year to date, while residential starts fell 31 percent to $4.7 billion.

The numbers make sense given the slowdown of South Florida’s preconstruction condo market. And as commercial construction ramps up, the region’s biggest general contractors have been shifting their attention to office, industrial, infrastructure and more.

But homebuilders shouldn’t fret. In November, new single-family home construction in the South and West hit their highest monthly rates since July 2007.

from The Real Deal Miami https://therealdeal.com/miami/2017/12/29/construction-starts-in-south-florida-on-the-rise-in-november/