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Private residential construction spending decreased 1.5% in June to $534.2 billion, according to National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) analysis of the latest Census Construction Spending data. June marks the third consecutive month private residential spending declined, following a 3.6% decrease in May and a 4.4% decrease in April. According to the NAHB's Eye on Housing blog, the monthly declines in private residential construction spending are largely attributable to a slowdown in spending on single-family homes and improvements.

Spending on single-family construction declined 3.6% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $252.6 billion, after a decrease of 7.7% in May. Private residential improvements, which include spending on remodeling, major replacements, and additions to owner-occupied housing units, dipped 0.4% to a $201.5 billion annual pace in June.

The NAHB construction spending index illustrates the solid growth in single-family construction and home improvement from the second half of 2019 to February 2020, before the COVID-19 hit the U.S. economy.

Spending on private nonresidential construction declined 3.2% in June on an annual basis to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $467.7 billion. The annual nonresidential spending decline was mainly due to less spending on the class of manufacturing ($7.3 billion), followed by the category of educational ($5.0 billion), and lodging ($4.9 billion).

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