Residential building, at $163.7 billion (annual rate), increased 1% in June compared to May. The upward push was provided by multifamily housing, which increased 5% in June on top of its 30% surge in May. Large multifamily projects that reached groundbreaking in June were led by the following—a $211-million apartment building in New York City, a $147-million apartment complex in Weehawken, N.J., the $144-million apartment portion of a mixed-use building in Hollywood, Calif., and a $139-million apartment building in Los Angeles.

Single-family housing in June was unchanged from May, essentially stabilizing after registering gains during the first five months of 2012. The June pace for both sides of the housing market were considerably above their respective monthly averages during 2011, with multifamily housing up 45% and single-family housing up 26% on this basis.

At the six-month mark of 2012, residential building in dollar terms advanced 25% from the first half of 2011, with multifamily housing climbing 32% while single-family housing grew 23%. The top five multifamily markets by metropolitan area during the first half of 2012 ranked by the dollar amount of new projects, were the following (with the percent change from a year ago)—New York City, up 88%; Washington, D.C., down 19%; Los Angeles, up 27%; Dallas-Ft. Worth, up 40%; and Boston, up 14%.

For single-family housing, the year-to-date gains were widespread by geography, with all five major regions of the U.S. reporting double-digit increases relative to a year ago—the West, up 32%; the Midwest, up 26%; the South Atlantic, up 21%; the South Central, up 20%; and the Northeast, up 12%.

Nonbuilding Construction

Nonbuilding construction, at $133.7 billion (annual rate), was unchanged in June relative to May, as the result of a sharp increase for the public works sector offsetting a steep decline for electric utilities. Public works construction climbed 26% in June, led by a 129% surge for the “other public works” category, which includes such diverse project types as sitework, mass transit, pipelines and outdoor sports stadiums.

A major boost to the “other public works” category in June was provided by $1-billion estimated for work on a new football stadium for the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, Calif. Also noteworthy “other public works” projects in June included $280 million for rail transit work in Fremont, Calif., and $225 million for sitework at Governor’s Island in New York City.

Bridge construction in June climbed 25%, supported by $386 million for work on the West Oahu Farrington Highway Guideway project in Honolulu, while highway construction in June improved 3%. The environmental public works categories in June showed the following performance – river/harbor development, up 3%; sewers, unchanged; and water supply systems, down 10%.

Electric utility construction in June plunged 60%, sliding from the heightened activity that was reported earlier in 2012. Even with this steep decline, electric utility construction in June still included the start of three large wind power projects, located in Colorado ($670 million), North Dakota ($314 million), and Alaska ($65 million).

For the first six months of 2012, nonbuilding construction was up 11% compared to last year. The electric utility category grew 30% year-to-date, in particular reflecting the start of the Vogtle and Summer nuclear power projects in March and April. Public works construction registered a 1% year-to-date gain, due mostly to a 58% jump for the “other public works” category from its depressed amount during the first half of 2011.

Modest 2012 year-to-date gains were reported for bridges and sewer construction, each up 2%. Decreased year-to-date activity was reported for highways, down 12%; accompanied by declines for water supply systems, down 10%; and river/harbor development, down 15%.

The 4% gain for total construction starts at the U.S. level during the first six months of 2012 was due to a varied pattern by geography. The South Atlantic region advanced 50% year-to-date, lifted by work at the nuclear power facilities in Georgia and South Carolina. Total construction starts in the Midwest were up 6%, but year-to-date declines were reported in the West, down 9%; and in the South Central and Northeast, each down 10%.