New construction contracts rose 1% last month.

The increase in contracts to an annual rate of $233.7 billion in September topped the record rate set two months earlier, according to a survey by the F. W. Dodge division of McGraw-Hill Information Systems. Contracts for new non-residential construction increased 8% over August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $88.7 billion, the survey indicated, with office and store construction both showing gains. Residential housing contracts reached an annual rate of $107.3 billion in September, up 1% from $106.1 billion in August.