Architecture and related professional services firms marked their 18th straight month of billing declines in July, but the decline slowed, according to new numbers released for the AIA/Deltek Architecture Billing Index. Last month’s score of 48.2 was up slightly from June’s figure of 46.4, a positive sign for the market, but the measure still below 50 shows that more than half of respondents are still navigating the rough commercial conditions of the AE sector.
Newly signed design contracts also declined, the index’s fourth consecutive decline.
The Market Barometer from the American Institute of Architects and software firm Deltek provides a rough nine-to-12-month view of the future of nonresidential construction spending activity. The score is derived from a monthly survey of AIA member companies that measures the change in the number of services provided to clients.
“Architecture firms continue to face a slowdown in turnover,” said Kermit Baker, AIA chief economist. “However, the emerging outlook for lower interest rates coupled with a modest increase in project inquiries suggests that some dormant projects may revive in the coming months.”
Companies located in the northeastern United States experienced what the AIA characterized as “stable” billings, reporting at least flat results for the second consecutive month, the first such period with scores reaching the 50 from mid-2022.
Billings decreased in the rest of the regions, with the Midwest at 47.6; the South, 46.3; and West, 46.0
Among the breakdown of market sector indices, institutional work was the highest, with 49.1; mixed practice (companies that do not have at least half of their turnover in any category), 47.7; multi-family residential, 45.4; and commercial/institutional, 49.0
