As Quickly As It Had Risen, AIA’s Architecture Billings Index Takes a Dive Once More

We warned you around this time last month to not get overly optimistic about the American Institute of Architects‘ Architecture Billings Index finally crossing the 50 point mark, the first time it has since January of 2008 (anything over 50 means there’s been an increase in billings across the industry). While it sat there at 50.4 for a few days, less than a month later, it’s dipped back into the negative, to 48.7. The other side of the study, the new project inquiries, were also down, making for a gloomy month in which to report. Here’s Mr. Stiff Upper Lip:

“This is disappointing news, but not altogether that surprising,” said AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker, PhD, Hon. AIA. “We were anticipating a slow recovery period and it is likely that there will be some fits and starts before conditions show consistent improvement. Right now, reluctance from lending institutions to provide credit for construction projects and a sluggish economy are the main impediments to a revival of the design and construction industry.”

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