An index of contracts for future construction in South Florida shows a 33 percent increase for the latest month, while non-residential construction is only up 4 percent.
In October, residential construction rose to $105.75 million, while non-residential rose to $124.56 million, according to the index, compiled by McGraw Hill Construction.
Residential includes homes and apartments, while non-residential includes commercial, manufacturing, education, religious, administrative, recreational, hotel and dormitory buildings.
For the year, non-residential was unchanged, at $1.49 billion, while residential was up 37 percent, to $1.33 billion.
The state in general showed more weakness than South Florida, with residential only up a cumulative 9 percent and non-residential down 18 percent.
Nationwide, the value of new construction starts advanced 12 percent in October, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $469.8 billion, according to McGraw-Hill Construction, a division of The McGraw-Hill Cos. The non-residential category was boosted by a $3 billion project to convert coal into gasoline in West Virginia.
Source: SFBJ
