WASHINGTON -- Fueled by more home building, construction spending increased 1.4% in October from the previous month and rose to its highest annual rate in more than three years, the Commerce Department said Monday.
Builders spent at a seasonally adjusted rate of $872.1 billion in October, up from a revised $860.4 billion in September. Year-over-year, spending in October increased 9.6%.
The new figures greatly exceeded analysts' expectations. The median projection by economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for spending to rise 0.5% in October.
The new government data came after Irvine research firm CoreLogic reported Monday that the number of completed foreclosures and homes in the foreclosure process dropped in October.