Washington, Feb 2 (IANS): The US construction spending continued to rise modestly in December 2012, offering relief to the ongoing property market recovery, US Department of Commerce reported Friday.

Construction spending was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $885 billion in December, 0.9 percent above the revised $876.9 billion in November, but still only half of the pace considered healthy by analysts, the department said in a report.

Spending on private construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $614.9 billion in December, 2 percent above the revised estimate of the previous month, while the estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of public construction spending was $270.1 billion in December, 1.4 percent below the revised November figure, reported Xinhua.

The US housing market is struggling for a turnaround about six years after the bubble burst. Although recent sales and prices indicators were mainly upbeat, many economists believe that the housing sector still has a long way to go before a full recovery.