Housing, Commercial Starts Should Improve in 2012

Washington, DC, Oct. 24, 2011 -- Overall construction isn't likely to pick up much next year, although prospects for housing and commercial building are somewhat brighter, according to a forecast by McGraw-Hill Construction.

The firm is projecting that this year will end with a 4% drop in total construction starts to $410 billion, marking the fifth straight year of contraction.

The company said that 2012 will edge up to about $412 billion in starts.

Much of the decline is due to continued weakness in single-family housing, which dropped 5% to 94.7 billion this year, according to projections. However, the firm also predicted the sector would rise to $104.6 billion next year.

The one bright spot is that multi-family starts are projected to increasee 13% to $23.6 billion this year and 18% next year.

Commercial building should rise 6% this year to $43.9 billion and 8% next year to $47.4 billion