Nov 5 morning brief with 4,239 open bids and residential spending down 5.4%

Eight new construction solicitations hit SAM.gov since Monday, and most of them are road and heavy civil work. Residential spending slid 5.4% in September while the pile of open federal bids sits at 4,239. If you price work, lean toward public and heavy jobs this month and sharpen your numbers on anything residential.

New to bid on

Eight new construction solicitations posted since Monday, Nov 2, with two in Texas and one each in New Jersey, Washington and Alaska. Four of the eight are highway, street and bridge work, and of the 4,239 open bids, 1,860 close this week.

• Energy, RF roof replacement project, Princeton, NJ. Closes December 10. Open to all (SAM.gov)
• Federal Highway Administration, Olympic NPS ERFO road repairs at Road 107, Forks, WA. Closes December 3. Open to all (SAM.gov)
• Federal Highway Administration, Far North Bicentennial Park enhancements, Anchorage, AK. Closes December 1. Open to all (SAM.gov)
• Forest Service, Little Missouri National Grassland road maintenance, ND. Closes December 1. Small business set-aside (SAM.gov)
• Army, USACE dredge to budget contract, Galveston, TX. Closes November 19. Open to all (SAM.gov)
• Army, USACE dredge to budget shallow draft, TX. Closes November 19. Small business set-aside (SAM.gov)

The number that moved

Residential construction spending came in at $861.2B in September 2026, seasonally adjusted annual rate. The prior month was $910.2B. That is a drop of 5.4%, and it sits 8.8% below a year ago. The source is the U.S. Census Bureau, via FRED. The chart above shows open solicitations by month: 4,142 in August, 3,232 in September, 4,892 in October and 4,239 now.

Here is what I do with that. The 30-year mortgage is at 7.24%, so fewer new builds and big remodels get started. Nonresidential spending went the other way, up 0.6% to $1,325.0B, and public spending held at $546.8B. Keep your residential bids tight on margin and put real hours into commercial and public work. Housing Starts and Building Permits both come out November 18, so look at them before you lock December pricing.

Three worth two minutes

• HUD launches 'express lane' for LIHTC multifamily construction loans, Construction Dive. Faster loan reviews could get affordable multifamily jobs moving sooner, so ask your GC contacts what is in their pipeline.
• Nearly 200K construction workers quit in September, the most in over 3 years, Construction Dive. Your crew is getting calls from other shops, so check your pay against the market before you lose a good hand.
• What AI Tells People About Your Concrete Business, For Construction Pros. The piece says old website info can hide you from new customers. Take ten minutes and make sure your hours, services and phone number are right.

Pick one of the road or dredge bids closing before December and read the solicitation today. The shortest deadline is November 19, and the ones that close fast are the ones people skip.