NAHB analysis of Census Construction Spending data shows that total residential construction spending for May increased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $366.1 billion. On a month-over-month basis, multifamily spending was $48.7 billion, up by 0.2% over the revised April estimate, while the single-family spending was $209.4 billion, an increase of 0.03% from April. Annually, multifamily spending rose 20.8% from the revised 2014 estimate and the spending on single-family construction was 11.2% higher than May 2014.

The Census construction spending index, which is shown in the graph below (the base is January 2000), indicates that both the monthly and annual increase were largely driven by the steady increase in multifamily construction spending. The pace of multifamily spending is gradually slowing. NAHB anticipates an increase in single-family spending in 2015.

The pace of nonresidential construction spending was also up by 1.1% monthly in May, and the annual increase from the revised May 2014 data was around 8.2%. The largest contribution to this year-over-year nonresidential spending gain was made by the class of manufacturing-related construction (69.5% increase), followed by lodging (30.6% increase) and amusement/recreation (29.8% increase).

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http://eyeonhousing.org/2015/07/may-gains-for-residential-construction-spending/