Construction + Economy

March 2009 construction spending was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $969.7 billion, 0.3% above the revised February estimate of $967.1 billion and 11.1% below the same period a year ago, when spending stood at $1,090.5 billion. During the first quarter of 2009, spending amounted to $209.5 billion, 10.9% below $235.2 billion for [...]

In James Howard Kunstler’s view, public spaces should be inspired centers of civic life and the physical manifestation of the common good. Instead, he argues in this Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) Talk, what we have in America is a nation of places not worth caring about. http://www.youtube.com/v/Q1ZeXnmDZMQ&hl=en&fs=1

More evidence that the housing market may be bottoming out, although the continuing credit crunch and a decline in permits are worrisome for future growth. Characteristic volatility in the multifamily sector pushed nationwide housing starts down 10.8% in March as production of single-family homes remained unchanged, according to the Department of Commerce. Overall starts fell [...]

The number of newly built, single-family homes on the market declined for a 23rd consecutive month in March as builders focused on winnowing down their inventories of unsold units, according to the Department of Commerce. Inventory shrank to 311,000 units, which is a 10.7-month supply at the current sales pace. Further, new home sales in [...]

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 [...]