Thursday, October 27, 2016

The Construction Industry Forecast for 2017

 

Alex Getelman works with architects, engineers, and contractors as the head of his real estate and construction management firm. Despite years of industry experience, Alex Getelman refers to construction industry forecasts to provide sound advice to his clients.

According to one 2017 forecast, the construction industry remains sound despite threats to the US economy. The American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Architecture Billing Index continues to show a positive growth in the design activity of its firms since 2012. Although there were signs of a decrease in activity during the second half of 2015, the general trend and projection of the new contracts index - signifying new project activity - remains above the current billing index.

The Urban Land Institute does predict an increase in vacancy rates and a decrease in rent in the housing and hotel market for the succeeding years, however. For the non-residential building sector, the AIA predicts a slower growth in 2017, with only a 5.6% rate projected in construction activity.

The strongest performer in the construction industry will be the commercial sector, which is expected to grow 6.5% in 2017 - largely due to thriving office and retail businesses.