Residential projects push Houston area construction starts higher in 2018

A project to replace the Quadrangle will bring new student housing to the University of Houston campus. A project to replace the Quadrangle will bring new student housing to the University of Houston campus. Photo: University Of Houston Photo: University Of Houston Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Residential projects push Houston area construction starts higher in 2018 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

The value of construction projects begun in the greater Houston area rose to $19.9 billion in 2018, up 9 percent from the $18.3 billion in starts a year ago, a new Dodge Data & Analytics report showed.

The the value of residential construction, which includes single-family homes and apartments, rose 25 percent to $11.3 billion in 2018. Nonresidential projects, which include office, retail, hotel, health care and church properties, totaled $8.6 billion, down 7 percent from $9.2 billion in 2017.

The numbers reflect projects in the 10-county Houston metro area.

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Construction starts in the Houston region totaled $1.23 billion in December, with the value of nonresidential projects more than doubling year-over-year to $661.2 million, according to Dodge Data. Residential projects, meanwhile, fell by 13 percent year-over-year in December to $573.2 million.

Big projects commencing in December included the University of Houston Quadrangle housing replacement, Sam Houston State University's College of Osteopathic Medicine in Conroe and an expansion of River Oaks Baptist School, according to Dodge Data.

The value of building permits issued by the city of Houston totaled $6.1 billion in 2018, according to a separate Greater Houston Partnership report that was based on Houston Public Works Department data. The value of construction permitted was similar in 2017.

For the year, residential construction in the city increased 17.7 percent to $2.8 billion, while nonresidential construction decreased by 12.1 percent to $3.3 billion, the Greater Houston Partnership reported.

In December, city of Houston construction permits totaled $511.6 million, down 6.3 percent from $546.0 million in December 2017.