Private residential improvement spending fell 13% in September and was down 18% year-over-year, according to the National Association of Home Builders’ analysis of U.S. Census Bureau construction spending data. NAHB described the figures as consistent with a 2026 remodeling soft patch, after improvement spending had trended upward since 2023 due to an aging housing stock.
The remodeling decline drove total private residential construction spending down 5.5% from August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $848.8 billion, 8.9% lower than September 2025. Single-family and multifamily construction spending were both flat for the month and down 2.4% and 0.2%, respectively, from a year ago. NAHB tied the single-family weakness to builder sentiment, which hit a 14-year low in October amid rising interest rates and energy and material costs.
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