Construction + Economy

Is the market at or near bottom? Good news is always welcome these days. While still deep in negative territory, builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes rose five points in April to the highest level since October 2008, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index [...]

Finally, some good news. After a series of historic lows, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) was up more than eight points in March. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate 9-12 month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. AIA reported the March ABI rating was 43.7, up [...]

Construction spending during February 2009 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $967.5 billion, 0.9% below the revised January estimate of $976.2 billion and 10% percent below the February 2008 estimate of $1,075.3 billion. During the first two months of this year, construction spending amounted to $135.5 billion, 10.9% below the $152 billion [...]

Following another historic low score in January, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) was up two points in February, but still pointing to a general lack of demand for design services. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate 9- to 12-month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. The [...]

Construction industry management consulting and investment banking firm FMI has released its Construction Outlook: First Quarter 2009 Report, available free online as a PDF document here. The outlook forecasts nonresidential construction will plummet and begin at least three years of contraction. The bottom, in terms of both dollar volume and percent decline, will not be [...]

I think that notion is being put to rest. In fact, green construction is expected to be a bright spot in the overall construction market during the current downturn and beyond. Consider: * According to Turner Construction’s 2008 Green Building Market Barometer survey of 754 commercial real estate executives, significant percentages of respondents view green [...]

LEED 2009 (LEED 3.0) is coming April 27. The new version of the LEED rating system will incorporate all of the rating systems that address commercial buildings–New Construction, Commercial Interiors, Schools and Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance–into three LEED 2009 systems: * Green Building Design & Construction * Green Interior Design & Construction * Green [...]

NEMA’s Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI) for current conditions gained ground for a second month in a row in February, rising to 27.3 points from 20 in January. In spite of the recent rebound, the business environment remains bleak. February’s reading was far below the “breakeven” mark of 50 points and indicates a steep and [...]

Nationwide housing starts turned upward for the first time in eight months in February, rising to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 583,000 units in February, a gain of 22.2%. To put this in perspective, however, the gain was primarily due to a big bump in the often-volatile multifamily market–an 82.3% surge to a 226,000-unit [...]