Drop in residential construction brings down spending in South Florida in May

South Florida developers broke ground on fewer projects in May year-over-year and year-to-date, according to the latest Dodge Data & Analytics report.

Overall, spending was down 5 percent in May compared to the previous year, and on a cumulative basis construction contracts were down 10 percent. Both declines were due to a big drop in residential construction, the report shows.

In May of this year, residential construction starts totaled $372 million, down 24 percent from $487 million. Commercial fared much better, with $297 million in spending recorded in May up 35 percent from $220 million last year.

So far this year, construction spending is down 10 percent to nearly $4 billion from about $4.5 billion for the same period last year. Commercial increased by 26 percent to $1.9 billion from $1.5 billion; and residential declined by 29 percent to $2 billion from $2.9 billion during January to May of last year.

May’s overall drop in construction spending is a sharp decline from the previous month. Construction starts were up 80 percent in April compared to the year before.

The slowdown in condo development has siphoned some of the fuel that has propelled the construction business in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, South Florida’s biggest general contractors told The Real Deal in its June issue.

And in the shadows of the gleaming new condo towers, construction contractors are moving on, building more airport concourses, schools, rental apartments, offices, bridges and more.