Nonresidential building starts fell 13 percent in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $244.9 billion.
Dodge Data says the declines were broad based across building types with few bright spots. Commercial starts dropped 10 percent, institutional starts lost 15 percent, and manufacturing starts fell 37 percent following a sizable gain in July.
Despite overall losses, Dodge Data says there were gains in retail, parking and public buildings. Through eight months of 2021, nonresidential building starts were 3 percent higher. Commercial starts increased 2 percent, and manufacturing starts were 33 percent higher. Institutional starts were 1 percent lower through eight months.
For the 12 months ending in August 2021, nonresidential building starts were 8 percent lower than in the 12 months ending in August 2020. Commercial starts were down 8 percent, institutional starts fell 4 percent and manufacturing starts dropped 29 percent in the 12 months ending in August 2021.
The largest nonresidential building projects to break ground in August were the $800 million first phase of the Facebook Eastmark Parkway data center in Mesa, Arizona, the $400 million Facebook data center in Springfield, Nebraska, and the $350 million Pratt & Whitney Project Ranger manufacturing building in Asheville, North Carolina.
Residential building
Residential building starts lost 9 percent in August to a seasonally adjusted rate of $370.2 billion, Dodge Data says.
Single-family starts fell 12 percent in August, while multifamily starts increased 1 percent.
Through eight months of 2021, residential starts were 24 percent higher than in the same period one year ago. Single-family starts gained 29 percent while multifamily starts grew 13 percent.
For the 12 months ending in August 2021, total residential starts were 21 percent higher than the 12 months ending in August 2020. Single-family starts gained 28 percent while multifamily starts were up 2 percent on a 12-month sum basis.
According to Dodge Data, the largest multifamily structures to break ground in August were the $615 million Flamingo Crossing Apartments in Winter Garden, Florida, the $400 million 1018 West Peachtree apartments in Atlanta, and the $374 million Victoria Place Gateway Tower in Honolulu.
