Dive Brief:

• Census Bureau data out this week shows that private spending on home construction hit an annual pace of $340.2 billion in September, highest since August 2008.
• Since the bottom of the market, private spending on single-family residences is up 88.5%, spending on multifamily has risen 146.6% and spending on home improvements is up 30.7%.
• The total for all spending is 18.7% above the rate from a year earlier.

Dive Insight:

The figures for August contribute to an overall positive trend for 2013, giving hope that the recovery has legs. That's not something that seems apparent all the time as various indicators strengthen and ebb. The next data on spending will not be out until December, when the Census Bureau will issue the numbers for both October and November. The schedule was knocked off by the government shutdown and its effect on data collection and analysis.