Although there seems to be a flurry of construction activity throughout the city, starts are down across the board in the Chicago-Naperville-Joliet MSA on a year-over-year basis, according to the latest report from Dodge Data and Analytics.
Residential construction starts spending was $365.2 million, down 71 percent from $1.3 billion in August 2016. Nonresidential starts spending was down 46 percent, from $719.1 million in August 2016 to $388.4 million in August 2017. Total starts dropped 62 percent from $2 billion in August 2016 to $753.6 million in August 2017.
On a year-to-date basis, total construction starts are down 17 percent in the area. In 2017, total starts reached $8.2 billion compared to nearly $10 billion in 2016. Nonresidential starts spending was $3.8 billion in 2017 year-to-date, down 14 percent from $4.4 billion last year. Residential spending hit $4.5 billion in 2017, down 19 percent from $5.5 billion in 2016.
| Aug 2017 | Aug 2016 | % Change | |
| Nonresidential | $388,357,000 | $719,142,000 | -46% |
| Residential | $365,201,000 | $1,281,131,000 | -71% |
| Total Building | $753,558,000 | $2,000,273,000 | -62% |
| YTD 2017 | YTD 2016 | % Change | |
| Nonresidential | $3,755,420,000 | $4,358,517,000 | -14% |
| Residential | $4,492,138,000 | $5,548,237,000 | -19% |
| Total Building | $8,247,558,000 | $9,906,754,000 | -17% |