Boston’s nonresidential construction saw a significant increase in April while residential building fell, according to a recent report by Dodge Data & Analytics. Construction as a whole, however, continues to follow a notable downward trend.
Commercial construction rates increased by 113 percent last month; $725.8 million was spent on building compared with $340.6 million in April 2016, according to Dodge. This was enough to bring up spending for commercial and residential housing construction combined, which experienced a 37-percent increase from April 2016 to April 2017. Residential building fell 17 percentage points in April.
Year-to-date numbers do show a 9-percent increase for commercial construction, but home starts and construction rates overall continue to spiral downward. Home construction saw a 52-percent decrease year-over-year, while construction for both types of properties combined experienced a 24-percent decrease year-over-year.
| 2017 | 2016 | Percent change | |
| Nonresidential (April) | $725,857,000 | $340,688,000 | 113 |
| Residential (April) | $395,127,000 | $477,122,000 | -17 |
| Total building | $1,120,984,000 | $817,810,000 | 37 |
| Year-to-date | |||
| Nonresidential | $1,938,161,000 | $1,781,711,000 | 9 |
| Residential | $969,233,000 | $2,032,139,000 | -52 |
| Total building | $2,907,394,000 | $3,813,850,000 | -24 |