The value of new construction starts settled back 4% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $589.8 billion, according to Dodge Data & Analytics (formerly McGraw Hill Construction). The decline followed the 10% increase reported in September, which was the strongest month for total construction starts so far in 2014.
Both nonresidential building and nonbuilding construction lost momentum in October while residential building posted a moderate gain, given further growth for multifamily housing. During the first 10 months of 2014, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis were $475.8 billion, up 5% from the same period a year ago.