The metro area of Chicago-Naperville-Joliet is seeing a sharp rise in construction, specifically in the residential sector.
According to Dodge Data & Analytics, the total single and multifamily housing construction jumped 33 percent on a year-over-year basis, from $1.17 billion in 2015 to $1.55 billion thus far this year.
On the other hand, nonresidential construction total, comprising office, retail, hotels and so on, dropped 30 percent on a year-over-year basis last month, from $2.07 billion last year to $1.45 billion this year.
The decline in nonresidential buildings caused the total building year-to-date figures to drop 7 percent year-over-year. In 2015, total construction thus far was $3.23 billion. This year, total construction to date is slightly over $3 billion.
The Chicago metro area encompasses Cook, De Kalb, Du Page, Grundy, Jasper, Kane, Kendall, Kenosha, Lake, McHenry, Newton, Porter and Will counties. The Chicago-Naperville-Joliet metro counties span across three states: Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.
Construction activity rises across the board
Looking at the pattern of construction, Dodge reveals a 36 percent increase in building, from just over $917 million in 2015 to about $1.25 billion this year.
In the nonresidential aspect, construction activity grew 42 percent — from $590 million to $839 million. Further, a 25 percent upward shift in residential construction was shown, from $327 million last year to $407 million this year.
This past January, residential construction starts in the Chicago metro reached almost $392 million, most of which accounted for multifamily building. Two high-rises took up $237 million of the total overhead.
Expectations for the Windy City
In its January report, Metrostudy anticipated a 3 to 4 percent rise in the market, or 6,200 to 6,300 housing starts. The Chicago market reached nearly 35,000 new home starts in years with high construction. Forty-five percent of those new construction homes were priced under $250,000.
But, at the start of the year, 35 percent of new home starts were under $250,000, reflecting an increase in more expensive developments.
