KEY POINTS
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In November 2025, Nonresidential Construction Starts dropped to $47.5 billion, nearly 50% lower than the record $93.4 billion in October, due to seasonal trends.
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Year-over-year growth rose 3.3%, driven by strong data center spending and a 24.6% increase in Total Commercial spending.
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Civil construction grew 9.1% YTD, while Residential construction faced a 5.7% decline, with Single-family starts improving but Multifamily lagging.
November Construction Spending Data Typifies Winter Seasonal Trend
ConstructConnect announced today that November 2025 Total Nonresidential Construction Starts—the combined total of Nonresidential Building and Civil Construction—settled at $47.5 billion. This figure represents a decrease of $46.0 billion from October’s revised record high of $93.4 billion.
While the nearly 50% drop from the prior month’s all-time high appears stark, economists emphasize that this shift aligns with industry patterns rather than a loss of momentum.
“This sharp decline reflects normal year-end seasonality and does not signal weakening underlying demand,” said Michael Guckes, Chief Economist at ConstructConnect.
November’s spending also fell below the monthly average for 2025, which stands at $65.3 billion. However, Guckes noted that volatility is common as the year draws to a close. “It is not unusual for starts spending to seasonally slow in the final months of the calendar year, making year-on-year (YoY) metrics more instructive,” he explained.
Michael Guckes, Chief Economist, ConstructConnect
Year-Over-Year Growth Driven by Data Centers
When viewed through a year-over-year lens, the industry’s trajectory remains positive. November 2025 spending was $1.5 billion, or 3.3%, higher than November 2024. This growth “was largely due to strong data center spending, which has lifted YoY Total Commercial spending higher by 24.6%,” Guckes added.
The Nonresidential Building (NRB) sector continues to perform well, pacing more than 16% ahead of last year’s year-to-date (YTD) readings. Offices, a category that includes data centers, and Manufacturing starts remain at nearly double the levels seen a year ago. Other strong performers include Military and Nursing Homes, which have posted double-digit gains.
November 2025 Total Nonresidential Construction Starts—the combined total of Nonresidential Building and Civil Construction—settled at $47.5 billion. This figure represents a decrease of $46.0 billion from October’s revised record high of $93.4 billion. Image: ConstructConnect Construction Economy Snapshot
Conversely, some NRB subcategories are contracting after a robust 2024. Prisons, Hospitals, and Clinics have reported sharp declines this year compared to the strong starts of the previous year.
Infrastructure and Civil Construction Trends
Civil construction has also shown resilience throughout the year. Year-to-date, through November, Civil construction, as reported by Guckes, is up 9.1%, representing a $23.2 billion gain. Key infrastructure categories such as Airports, Bridges, and Power Infrastructure have increased by 10% or more over the same period in 2024.
Despite the strong annual performance, November’s specific reading for Civil construction was just $15.8 billion, substantially below the YTD monthly average of $25.4 billion. As with the broader nonresidential figures, this dip appears largely attributable to seasonal factors, according to the report from ConstructConnect.
Residential Sector Challenges Persist
The residential market continues to face headwinds, Guckes noted. Total Residential construction for the year-to-date period through November contracted by $16.6 billion, a 5.7% decline.
Within this sector, Single-family starts were down 7.2% YTD, though this marks a significant improvement over the double-digit contractions seen mid-year. In contrast, the Multifamily segment ended the period down 3.1%, recording its weakest YTD performance on a percentage basis since February, Guckes reported.
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Construction Starts Here™ at ConstructConnect, where our mission is to help the construction industry start every project on a solid foundation. A leading provider of software solutions for the preconstruction industry, ConstructConnect empowers commercial construction firms to streamline their workflows and maximize productivity. ConstructConnect operates as a business unit of Roper Technologies (Nasdaq: ROP), a constituent of the Nasdaq 100, S&P 500, and Fortune 1000.
