Construction Spending Rises for 5th Straight Month

The worst year for home building on record was 2011, but the year ended with a surge in construction spending, as the new-home sector heads into 2012 on a brighter note. 

For the fifth straight month, builders spent more on homes and projects, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. Construction projects increased 1.5 percent in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $816.4 billion -- the highest level in nearly two years. 

“The gains coincide with other signs that show the troubled housing industry may be improving,” the Associated Press reports. “Builders are more confident after seeing more interest in homes, and single-family home construction rose in the final three months of last year.”