New construction starts in April settled back 1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $473.0 billion, according to McGraw-Hill Construction, a division of McGraw-Hill Financial. The public-works sector retreated from its elevated pace in March, and housing experienced a slight loss of momentum. Meanwhile, nonresidential building in April showed some improvement after its lackluster performance during the previous two months.
On an unadjusted basis, total construction starts in the January-April period of 2013 came in at $141.1 billion, down 5% from the same period a year ago. The 2013 year-to-date amount for total construction was pulled down by a sharply reduced volume of new electric utility starts. If electric utilities are excluded, total construction starts would be up 12% year-to-date, with most of the lift coming from this year’s stronger rate of homebuilding.