This year is shaping up to be a positive one for new construction in Chicagoland.

Residential construction spending in the Chicagoland area was down 11 percent year-over-year in July, but so far in 2015 is 28 percent ahead of where it was last year.

Those stats came courtesy of the latest Dodge Data & Analytics report, a monthly look at residential construction activity in the nation’s largest metro areas.

Chicago Agent assembled a series of graphs on Dodge Data’s findings. Below is total residential construction spending in July:

As with previous months, the overall construction activity in Chicagoland remains relatively low, with its annual rate of $413 million far behind Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and Miami.

Chicagoland’s year-over-year growth was also behind the pack:

Yearly stats, however, can be volatile – in past month’s, Chicago’s yearly numbers have been among the best in the nation – and an area’s year-to-date progress is a better indicator of the market’s actual health:

At 28 percent, Chicagoland’s year-to-date measurements remain strong, and indicate that the Second City is due for its best year of new construction activity since the downturn.