A forward-looking index of U.S. nonresidential construction activity fell to the lowest level in its 13-year history last month as spending slumped on healthcare and educational facilities, an architects' trade group said on Wednesday.

The green building market could expand threefold in five years, according to a new report from McGraw-Hill Construction.

Home sales in Canada fell to their lowest level in more than six years in October as fallout from the global financial crisis undermined market sentiment, the Canadian Real Estate Association said on Friday.

Toll Brothers Inc , the largest U.S. luxury home builder, said on Tuesday it expected to report a 41 percent drop in fourth-quarter home-building revenue, sending shares down about 5 percent in premarket trading.

Simon Property Group Inc reported a 10.8 percent increase in quarterly funds from operations as it benefited from higher rents, but slower sales growth and lower occupancy at its malls and outlet centers helped drive its shares down more than 4 percent.

Granite Construction Inc ‘s subsidiary, Granite Construction Company, has been awarded a US$44 million contract for a highway rehabilitation project in California.

Prices of U.S. single-family homes plunged a record 16.6 percent in August from a year earlier and plummeted more than 30 percent in Las Vegas and Phoenix, Standard & Poor's said on Tuesday.

The Louisville Arena Authority has awarded Patriot one of the final major contracts for the US$238 million arena’s construction.

A forward-looking measure of US nonresidential construction activity plunged last month as more architects reported cancellations of projects amid the ongoing credit crisis, an architects' trade group said today, October 22.

Construction and mining equipment maker Caterpillar Inc said its quarterly earnings fell 6.4 percent as weakness in the United States spread into Europe and Asia and offset continued growth in emerging markets.