Architecture billings slow amid waning design demands

The Architecture Billings Index, an economic indicator of construction activity, was stopped in its tracks in November following a six-month period of accelerating demand for design services. 

The Architecture Billings Index score for the month dropped to 49.8 from 51.6 in October, as design activity was apparently less in demand, Real Estate Weekly reported. Any score above 50 reflects a jump in billings. September, for example, saw the second-highest ABI index level of the year, at 54.3, amid a boom in construction, as previously reported.

The new projects inquiry index dropped to 57.8 from 61.5 month-over-month.

“Architecture firms continue to report widely varying views of business conditions across the country. This slight dip is likely just a minor, and hopefully temporary, lull in the progress of current design projects,” chief economist Kermit Baker at the American Institute of Architects told Real Estate Weekly. [REW] — Mark Maurer