Vol. 23, No. 39 October 23-27, 2023Hotel construction picks up; higher-ed enrollments are mixed; Beige Book finds ‘sluggish’ activity  Hotel construction picks up, Lodging Econometrics reportsThe hotel construction market appears to be doing well. “The total U.S. construction pipeline stands at 5,704 projects/672,676 rooms, up 7% year-over-year (y/y) by projects and rooms,” lodging information provider Lodging Econometrics reported on Wednesday….Read more Higher-ed enrollments are mixedIn a report with mixed implications for demand for higher-education construction, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reported on Wednesday, “Undergraduate enrollment grew for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic this fall (+2.1%)…Read more Beige Book finds ‘sluggish’ construction activity  “Most districts indicated little to no change in economic activity since the September [6th] report,” the Federal Reserve reported in the October 18 “Beige Book,” which summarizes comments received by October 6 from contacts made by the Fed’s 12 regional district banks.  Read more GDP jumps; investment in structures risesInflation-adjusted gross domestic product (real GDP) rose 4.9% at a seasonally adjusted annual rate in Q3, up from 2.1% in Q2 and the fastest pace since Q4 2021, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported on Thursday. Real residential investment in permanent-site structures jumped 17% (single-family structures, 22%; multifamily, 4.5%)…. Read more