Single-family construction spending grows for first time in 40 months

But multifamily, weakened by too much building during the boom and too little credit now, slides 7.2 percent in June.

For the first time in more than three years, spending for single-family construction grew in June on a monthly basis, increasing 2.4 percent compared to May. This translates into a seasonally adjusted level of $93.5 billion, which is 51.1 percent below June 2008’s level, according to figures released Monday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

It represents the first increase in this category in 40 months, according to Patrick Newport, U.S. economist of IHS Global Insight, who predicts single-family construction will continue to grow in the months to come.

Overall, construction spending increased slightly in June, rising 0.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted level of $965.7 billion compared to May. Those June figures stand 10.2 percent below the same month one year ago.