November marked the third straight monthly increase in construction activity after a dismal summer. The Commerce Department reported that construction spending increased 0.4 percent in November 2010. However, building activity is only 2.3 percent higher than in August, when it had fallen to the lowest level in a decade.
Total spending increased to $810.2 billion in November at a seasonally adjusted annual rate. The strength in November came from a 0.7 % rise in private residential construction which increased to $235.7 billion at an annual rate. That marked the third straight gain.
November was the first time in seven months that housing construction, excluding renovation projects, rose. Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, said home construction had been declining for months since the expiration of a federal home-buying tax credit expired in the spring. “It now looks as though homebuilding activity has finally hit bottom,” Shepherdson said. “A sustained recovery is still some way off, though.”