Total construction starts fell 2 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $853.5 billion, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. Nonresidential building and nonbuilding starts both gained.
“Nonresidential starts are stabilizing and should continue to heal throughout 2021, however, this sector will also be challenged by similar issues facing the housing market that will cause its starts to be below pre-pandemic levels for months to come,” says Richard Branch, chief economist for Dodge Data & Analytics.
Nonresidential starts increase, led by institutional
Nonresidential building starts rose 16 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $276.3 billion. Institutional building starts rose 19 percent, driven by education, transportation, and recreation buildings, while commercial starts rose 12 percent due to gains in the office and warehouse categories. On a year-to-date basis, nonresidential building starts were 17 percent lower than during the first four months of 2020. Commercial starts were down 20 percent, while institutional starts were down 18 percent.
For the 12 months ending April 2021, nonresidential building starts were 26 percent lower than the 12 months ending April 2020. Commercial starts were down 27 percent, while institutional starts were 18 percent lower.
The largest nonresidential building projects to break ground in April were a $1.2 billion conversion of a storage building to an office project in New York City, the $530-million Mickey Leland International Terminal in Houston, and a $325 million Amazon office project in Bellevue, Washington.
Regionally, April’s starts rose in the Northeast and Midwest but fell in the West, South Central, and South Atlantic regions.
