WASHINGTON (July 28, 2014) — Due to the weather-related slow start in the nonresidential building market during the first part of the year and the prolonged weakness in the institutional sector, construction spending projections for the rest of the year have been lowered slightly. The commercial construction sector is still looking at solid spending increases throughout the remainder of 2014, paced by high levels of demand for hotels and office buildings. The American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) semi-annual Consensus Construction Forecast, a survey of the nation’s leading construction forecasters, is projecting that spending will see a 4.9 percent increase in 2014, down from the previous estimate of 5.8 percent, with next year’s projection holding at 8 percent. “The institutional market has been a drag on the overall recovery for the design and construction industry for the last few years, and until we see state and local governments ramp up spending for new education, health care and public safety structures, there likely won’t be a widespread acceleration in spending for the entire industry,” said AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker, Ph.D, Hon. AIA. “But we continue to have an optimistic outlook for the commercial and industrial sectors both for the rest of this year and into 2015.”
