Construction spending rose 0.9% in November, largely owing to an increase in work on residential housing.
Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a 1.1% increase.
Outlays on new homes climbed 2.6% as builders raced to bring more units to the market to meet a surge in home sales. Spending on new homes has shot up 16.2% in the past year.
Outlays on all other forms of construction, both commercial and government funded, fell 0.6%.
Spending in October, meanwhile, was revised up to reflect a 1.6% gain instead of 1.3% as initially reported.
