Contracts for future San Diego County construction declined 14 percent in the first six months of 2012 compared with the year-ago period, according to data from New York-based McGraw-Hill Construction.
Local contracts totaled just over $1.77 billion in the January-June period, down from $2.07 billion in the first half of 2011. Local nonresidential contracts declined 21 percent, to just under $1.2 billion, while residential contracts rose 3 percent, to just over $579.9 million.
For the month of June, total San Diego County building contracts dropped 65 percent from a year ago, to just over $281 million. The decline was sparked primarily by an 85 percent decrease in nonresidential activity, to $104.8 million.
Contracts for future local residential projects rose 59 percent in June from a year ago, to $176.1 million.