South Florida construction spending drops by half in April: report

There’s seasonal change, and then there’s this.

South Florida developers cut their construction spending by half during April, according to a newly released report from Dodge Data & Analytics, marking a significant decline in both the residential and nonresidential sectors.

Last month, a total of $437.89 million worth of construction contracts were signed in South Florida. That figure has fallen by 51 percent compared to the $895 million spent in April 2015, according to the report.

Though both sectors were down, the largest drop in spending was in residential construction. Roughly $116.4 million worth of residential contracts began in April, down 71 percent from the $398.4 million seen a year ago.

For nonresidential construction, which includes everything from government buildings to hotels, spending fell 35 percent from $497 million in April 2015 to $321 million this year.

Despite the decline, construction spending is still on track to outpace the previous year — albeit barely.

So far this year, the industry has soaked up $3.44 billion worth of construction contracts. That’s about 4 percent more than the first four months of 2015, which saw $3.3 billion.

South Florida developers also spent the second-most on construction out of any other U.S. city last year with a total of $6.3 billion. — Sean Stewart-Muniz