Spending on construction in the U.S. fell in July as the market continues its downward spiral.
Construction spending was down 2.8% year-over-year in July, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau
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Spending on construction in the U.S. fell in July as the market continues its downward spiral.
July’s construction spending estimate was 0.1% lower than June’s revised estimate, according to data released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau, with $2,139.1 billion spent at a seasonally adjusted annual rate compared to June’s spending estimate of $2,140.5 billion.
Compared to construction spending in July 2024, spending has dropped 2.8%. And compared to the first seven months of the year in 2024, spending during the same period in 2025 has dipped 2.2%.
Private construction spending dropped 0.2% last month. Residential construction rose slightly by 0.1% while nonresidential construction dropped 0.5% compared to June’s spending data.
A report specifically covering new residential construction from the Bureau found that permits dropped in July while starting new builds increased. While this could explain the slight uptick in residential construction spending for July, the slowdown of new permits could be an indicator of what next month’s spending report could look like.
New single-family home sales saw a drop last month as well, according to data from the Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Compared to July 2024, new home sales dropped 8.2% in July 2025.
Not only have new home sales dropped, but a recent update from the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Index for June found that national home prices were up only 1.9% year-over-year — marking their slowest growth since the summer of 2023, Nicholas Godec, head of fixed income tradables and commodities at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in a release.
Cities like San Antonio, Memphis, New Orleans, Houston, and Miami have seen the slowest movement in their respective housing markets, with properties sitting on the market for weeks, according to Zillow.
The latest Census data also found that spending on public construction rose in July by 0.3% compared to June. Educational construction and highway construction both dipped 0.1% last month.
— Ben Kesslen contributed to this article.
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