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The outlook for the real estate sector continues to darken as the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Architecture Billings Index dropped to a historic low in January.
The January Architecture Billings Index (ABI) dropped to 33.3, down from the 34.1 mark in December. The inquiries for new projects score was 43.5.
The ABI is an economic indicator of construction activity. Any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings at architecture firms.
“Now that the stimulus bill has passed and includes funding for construction projects, as well as for municipalities to raise bonds, business conditions could improve,” says AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker. “That said, until we can get a clearer sense of credit lines being made available by banks, it will be hard to gauge when a lot of projects that have been put on hold can get back online.”