Construction starts in South Florida fell 23 percent in October to $1.37 billion, according to a new Dodge Data & Analytics report.
Commercial building continues to outpace residential, due in large part to South Florida’s condo market slowdown. Last month, new commercial starts increased 36 percent to about $720 million, while residential starts declined 47 percent to $653 million, compared to October 2016.
Year-to-date, construction spending fell 9 percent in October to $9.47 billion from $10.4 billion the previous year, according to the report. Commercial starts increased 30 percent to $5 billion, while residential starts fell 32 percent to $4.4 billion.
Despite the consecutive decline in residential building nationwide, home sales in the U.S. rose 6.2 percent month-to-month in October, marking the biggest uptick seen in a decade.
While the condo market may be hurting, commercial sectors, including multifamily and industrial, are thriving as some of the region’s biggest general contractors shift their focus to building properties like warehouses, seaport and airport facilities, and apartment buildings. – Amanda Rabines