ENCONSTRUCTION, COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE & DEVELOPMENT FINANCE · NOVEMBER 3, 2026
Construction Spending Falls as Private Residential Activity Pulls Back
Census estimated September construction spending at a $2.1861 trillion annual rate, down 1.9% from August, as private residential spending fell 5.5% while private nonresidential spending rose 1.1%.
What Census released on November 2
Source publication date: November 2, 2026. The Census Bureau estimated September construction spending at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2.1861 trillion, 1.9% below the revised August estimate of $2.2274 trillion and 2.7% below September 2025. Spending during the first nine months of 2026 was estimated at $1.6496 trillion, 2.9% below the same period of 2025. The estimates include sampling and nonsampling error and are subject to revision.
- 01Total spending fell 1.9%
- 02Private residential fell 5.5%
- 03Private nonresidential rose 1.1%
Private residential spending drove the monthly decline
Private construction was estimated at a $1.6393 trillion annual rate, down 2.4% from August. Within that total, private residential construction fell 5.5% to $848.8 billion, while private nonresidential construction rose 1.1% to $790.6 billion. Different directions across segments show why a national total should not be treated as a direct indicator for one contractor, property type, or market.
Public construction was broadly stable
Public construction was estimated at a $546.8 billion annual rate, 0.1% below the revised August figure, a change Census marked as not statistically significant at the stated confidence level. Educational construction was virtually unchanged at $113.1 billion, and highway construction was down 0.3% to $149.2 billion. Appropriations, procurement, weather, labor, materials, permitting, and project timing can affect individual pipelines differently.
Practical borrower takeaway
Reconcile the latest cost-to-complete report to contracts, change orders, invoices, stored materials, contingency, retainage, interest carry, and remaining equity. Update draw timing, permits, inspections, completion tests, sales or lease-up, operating deficits, and permanent-loan requirements. Stress delays, cost increases, slower absorption, lower value, and reduced takeout proceeds, then preserve enough liquidity and approval time for the downside case.
Construction borrowers should refresh budgets, contracts, draws, contingencies, completion timing, leasing or sales assumptions, and interest carry using project-level evidence rather than applying national spending changes directly.
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