Robert LiMandri

The Department of Buildings has issued 34 full and 75 partial stop work orders as part of a citywide safety inspection of 920 low-rise construction sites, the agency said. The orders covered 12 percent of the 920 sites inspected as part of “Operation: Low Rise.”

The two-month investigation, concluded today, netted more than $954,000 in penalties from violations, the department said. The mostly minimal violations included missing fences, missing guardrails, missing fire extinguishers and work without proper permits, the news release said. [more]

Homeowners have been hesitant to open their wallets for renovations, but a new study shows that spending on home improvements is set to accelerate through at least the third quarter of 2013, the New York Times reported. The projections reflect rising home sales and construction, and low financing costs, said Kermit Baker, director of the Remodeling Futures program at Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, which conducted the study. [more]

U.S. construction spending in November fell 0.3 percent below the revised October figure of $868.2 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Commerce. Spending in November totaled $866.0 billion, a 7.7 percent year-over-year gain. As The Real Deal reported last month, the October figures showed a second consecutive month of gains, following a large drop in July and another fall in August. [more]

Construction employment in October declined in 156 out of 337 American cities, according to a press release issued today by the Associated General Contractors of America. For the remainder of the cities, employment figures increased in 127 cities and remained the same in 54.

As The Real Deal reported last month, the figures declined in a total of 160 U.S. metro areas in September. AGCA officials attributed the declines to uncertainty about federal tax and investment programs and on declining public sector demand. [more]

Toll Brothers CEO Doug Yearley

Building off recent momentum, Pennsylvania-based builder Toll Brothers saw a $411.1 million profit in the fourth quarter, up a whopping 2,641 percent over the same period in 2011, HousingWire reported. The gain comes as new home contract signings soared year-over-year and the company nabbed a one-time tax benefit to the tune of $350 million.

The fourth quarter profit this year marks a significant jump from last year. The company last year posted a $15 million profit in the fourth quarter. There was also an increase in the amount of homes built in the fourth quarter — a total of 1,088, up 44 percent year-over-year. And with that comes contracts signed, which also saw a year-over-year gain of 75 percent, worth a total of $684.1 million. [more]

Construction spending in October rose 1.4 percent above the revised September figure of $860.4 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Commerce. Spending in October totaled $872.1 billion, a 9.6 percent year-over-year gain.

As The Real Deal reported last month, the September figures showed the first gain in spending following a large drop in July and another fall in August. But even with the declines over the summer, the first 10 months of 2012 have seen construction spending reach $707.4 billion — a 9.3 percent year-over-year increase. [more]

Following two months of declines, U.S. construction spending in September rose 0.6 percent above the revised August figure of $846.2 billion, according to a release sent today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Commerce. Total construction spending last month totaled $851.6 billion, which also marks a 7.8 percent year-over-year gain. [more]

Annual construction spending in the Big Apple is expected to exceed $30 billion for the first time since 2008 according to an annual New York Building Congress report issued today.

Thanks to an increase in demand for luxury housing, and an upswing in non-residential activity and government spending, the group predicts a 9 percent year-over-year increase in overall construction spending to $30.7 billion this year, from $28 billion last year. And thanks to an increase in activity across all sectors, spending has climbed 22 percent since falling to a post-recession low of $25.2 billion in 2010. [more]

Following disappointing numbers in July, U.S. construction spending fell again in August. However, the weak numbers are tempered by strong year-over-year growth of 6.5 percent, according to data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Commerce.

Construction spending reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $837 billion in August, a 0.6 percent decline from July’s figure. [more]

The Department of Buildings took in $51 million more than it anticipated in fiscal year 2012, according to a city report released yesterday, as the agency stepped up enforcement, increased fees and saw a slight uptick in construction applications.

In budget discussions in March, the Bloomberg Administration estimated the profitable agency would take in $146.9 million in revenue. Instead, it took in $198.2 million, the highest in the agency’s history, and $33 million more than the previous record in fiscal year 2011, the city’s annual Mayor’s Management Report says. The city’s fiscal year ends June 30. [more]