Private residential construction spending was up 1.7% in March 2026, following two straight months of declines. The increase was broad-based, with gains in single-family, multifamily construction, and home improvement spending. Moreover, total private residential construction spending was 3.6% higher than a year ago.

According to the latest construction spending data from the U.S. Census, single-family construction spending increased 2.7% in March, consistent with the steady builder confidence reflected in the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). Despite the monthly gain, single-family construction spending was down 4.2% over a year ago. Meanwhile, multifamily construction spending edged up 0.3% in March. This marks the second monthly increase after two consecutive months of modest declines. Compared to a year earlier, multifamily spending was 0.5% higher. Improvement spending (remodeling) also increased in March, rising 0.9% for the month. Remodeling remained a bright spot on a year-over-year basis, with spending up 14.3% from March 2025.

The NAHB construction spending index is shown in the graph below. The index illustrates how spending on single-family construction has slowed since early 2024, reflecting the impacts of elevated interest rates and ongoing uncertainty over building material tariffs. Multifamily construction spending growth has also slowed down after the peak in July 2023, with the index largely plateauing since late 2024. In contrast, improvement spending has been on an upward trend since the beginning of 2025, supported in part by the aging housing stock and sustained demand for renovation.

Spending on private nonresidential construction was down 2.1% over a year ago. The annual private nonresidential spending decrease was driven by a $39 billion drop in manufacturing construction spending.