Despite slowdown, South Florida construction still outpacing 2015

The first half of 2016 has been a mixed bag for South Florida’s construction industry, with spending on contracts ebbing and flowing depending on the month.

But despite that volatility, a new report from research firm Dodge Data & Analytics shows the industry is still outpacing 2015 — albeit marginally.

During May, developers and homebuilders spent $204 million on non-residential construction contracts, marking a 15 percent decline year-over-year. That sector covers everything from government offices to hotels.

But residential construction was booming that same month. Contracts spiked upward by 62 percent year-over-year to $365 million, according to the report.

While those two sectors were headed in different directions during May, when added together they still show a significant 23 percent increase over the previous year.

From January to May, developers spent $1.36 billion on nonresidential contracts and $2.68 billion on residential for a total of $4 billion. Compared to the $3.76 billion that was spent during the same time frame in 2015, the industry has pulled ahead by roughly 8 percent so far this year.

Spending on construction in both sectors dipped heavily at the end of 2015 as news began breaking of a residential sales slowdown. Even so, South Florida still saw the second-largest influx of construction dollars out of every other region in the U.S. except for New York. — Sean Stewart-Muniz