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The disappearance of such affordable homes is central to the American housing crisis. The nation has a deepening shortage of housing. But, more specifically, there isn’t enough of this housing: small, no-frills homes that would give a family new to the country or a young couple with student debt a foothold to build equity. [...]
At the root is the math problem of putting — or keeping — a low-cost home on increasingly pricey land.
— The New York Times
America has a long history of gradually siphoning away architecture made for predominantly middle-class people (think pre-war buildings in Manhattan or Levittown tract housing on Long Island) and is now simply under-delivering what could otherwise be an equalizing force as a result of prevailing... View full entry
The latest Dodge Construction Network figures show a decline in construction starts by 9% after a July spike that was propelled mostly by the nonresidential and nonbuilding sectors. Total starts now stand at an adjusted annual rate of $1.25 trillion. The August dip was caused by a 36%... View full entry
National nonresidential construction spending has increased by a modest 0.8% in July, according to an analysis of government spending data from the U.S. Census Bureau by Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC). On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $... View full entry
The latest Dodge Momentum Index report from the Dodge Construction Network shows a slight drop of 1.2% from July’s revised record peak of 174.0, driven by declines in the institutional sector that were spurred on primarily by a decrease in healthcare projects when compared to last month... View full entry
According to CBRE's new 2022 U.S. Construction Cost Trends report, nationwide industry price levels have posted the largest increase in years, driven by labor shortages, inflation, supply chain disruptions, the ongoing impact of the pandemic, and the war in Ukraine. CBRE forecasts a... View full entry
According to a new report by apartment search website RentCafe, New York City is projected to deliver the most newly-built apartments in 2022, claiming the top position for the first time since 2018. Despite pandemic-induced setbacks in the last two years, New York City is expected to... View full entry
Demand for design services at architecture firms across the U.S. has increased for the eighteenth consecutive month in July, according to new data from the American Institute of Architects (AIA). The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) reported a score of 51.0 last month. While this reading is... View full entry
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, multifamily developers and builders have had their work cut out for them as they try to budget for their lumber needs. After months of wild fluctuations, lumber futures fell to their lowest level in a year earlier this month, according to lumber price data from NASDAQ. They have since reversed course, and currently stand at just under $600. — Multifamily Dive
As reported by Multifamily Dive, two pandemic-induced bubbles, in which lumber futures rose to record highs in the thousands of dollars, popped, dropping to below $500. The producer price index, a measure of the average changes in prices received by producers, for softwood lumber fell 22.6% in... View full entry
According to the Dodge Construction Network (DCN), total construction starts surged 48% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.36 trillion. The gain is due to the start of three large manufacturing plants and two Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) export facilities. Even without these... View full entry
The number of unfilled positions in the construction industry appears to be falling, according to new figures by the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC). June 2022 saw 334,000 unfilled positions in the sector, down 17% on the previous month, but still 4% higher than June 2021. ABC’s... View full entry
Demand for architectural design services has expanded for the seventeenth consecutive month, according to the latest economic report released by the American Institute of Architects. The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) for June reached a score of 53.2, softening only slightly from May's score of... View full entry
A new report from the Dodge Construction Network indicates the continued rebound of the building industry in 12 of America’s 20 largest metropolitan areas during the first two quarters of 2022, propelled by new starts in the commercial and multifamily residential sectors. A survey at the... View full entry
In June, total construction starts fell 5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $932.3 billion, according to a new Dodge Construction Network report. Nonresidential building starts fell 14%, and residential starts dropped 6%. Nonbuilding starts, on the other hand, gained 13% last month due to... View full entry
On July 26th, voting closes for the election of the next RIBA president. When the winner commences their two-year term as president on September 1st, 2023, they will be confronted with a list of burning issues across the UK’s architectural profession; and will be expected to publicly lead a... View full entry
Turner and Townsend’s latest annual International Construction Market Survey names disruptions in the global supply chain, triggered in part by lockdowns in China due to COVID-19, and rising commodity costs following the invasion of Ukraine as key stress factors for construction markets... View full entry
