The housing market is showing signs of softness after the pandemic-era boom.
Spending on construction fell 0.8 percent in May, the Commerce Department reported Friday. This was the first decline since September 2021.
Economists had forecast a 0.5 percent increase.
Over the past year, construction spending is up 9.7 percent.
Total private sector construction was flat. Private residential construction rose 0.2 percent, while private nonresidential spending fell 0.4 percent.
Most strikingly, spending on new single-family construction—where the real estate boom has been most extreme—was flat for the month.
These figures are not adjusted for inflation. On an inflation-adjusted basis, the declines would be much larger.
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