The dollar value of total construction starts posted a monthly decline of 11% during November, according to McGraw Hill Construction's seasonally adjusted Dodge data, which was running at an annual rate of $525 billion. But on a year-to-date basis, total construction starts through the first 11 months of the year was $475 billion, which was 6% above the same period of 2012. Residential construction led the way with a 25% annual increase, followed by an 8% gain for non-residential building work. Non-building construction is still 15% behind 2012.