In February, nonresidential construction spending soared, while the residential market has experienced declines in spending, according to the latest report from Dodge Data and Analytics.

Nearly a four-fold increase was seen in spending for non-residential buildings, with $237 million spent in February 2016 and $947 million last month. Although non-residential construction is abundant, residential construction dropped by 22 percent from $1 billion in February 2016 to $775 million this year, a 39 percent decrease.

Comparing year-to-date numbers for 2016 and 2017, again nonresidential construction has more than doubled, with $585 million in spending in 2016 and $1.3 billion so far this year. Residential starts decreased by 17 percent, from $1.6 billion in 2016 to $1.3 billion in 2017. Total spending increased by 23 percent from $2.2 billion to $2.7 billion.

These numbers come in the middle of a housing shortage in the area, which has in turn caused housing prices in the area to rise.