FMI released the first-quarter 2012 Construction Outlook Report forecasting a 5% increase in total construction put in place for 2012 compared to 2011, or $826.3 billion. The last time construction put in place was at this level was 2000-2001.
Despite slow growth projections and rising gasoline prices, the GDP is still growing and consumers are still spending, reflected in the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index increasing to 70.8 in February compared to 70.4 a year ago. Along with the Federal Reserve's intervention, these factors have served to keep growth slow and inflation in check.
In order for residential construction to achieve the 8 percent increase projected and top $264.4 billion in 2012, a number of factors still have to fall into place:
- Reduction in the current inventory of homes
- Lenders willing to lend on reasonable terms
- Steady improvement in hiring
Projections indicate a 4% increase in nonresidential buildings for 2012, topping $341 billion, with slightly higher growth in 2013 to $361 billion. Nonresidential contractors are facing many of the same problems as residential contractors. In addition, competition is fierce, with low price still the name of the game. Project owners who are ready to restart their building programs are expecting hungry contractors to submit very low bids. One of the keys for growth will be the return of private investment in construction. Additionally, federal, state and local government construction have been dialed back until budgets are in better repair and tax revenues return to levels that are more normal. Research indicates that there are signs this is starting to happen. BD+C
Related Stories
| Oct 29, 2014
Diller Scofidio + Renfro selected to design Olympic Museum in Colorado Springs
The museum is slated for an early 2018 completion, and will include a hall of fame, theater, retail space, and a 20,000-sf hall that will showcase the history of the Olympics and Paralympics.
Smart Buildings | Oct 29, 2014
SCAPE’s 'living breakwaters' resiliency development wins 2014 Buckminster Fuller Challenge
New York-based landscape architecture firm SCAPE won the Buckminster Fuller Institute’s 2014 Fuller Challenge, billed as socially responsible design’s highest award.
| Oct 28, 2014
4 keys to mastering 'design thinking' and the iteration process
When using design thinking and iteration, we’ll sometimes spend multiple days iterating idea after idea, heads down, only to realize we still don’t have it right, writes HDR's Amy Lussetto. She offers tips for success with these idea-nurturing tools.
| Oct 28, 2014
Miami accepts more modest plan to renovate its convention center
The city of Miami has awarded an $11 million contract for its on-again, off-again convention center renovation to Denver-based Fentress Architects, which will serve as the design criteria professional on this project.
| Oct 28, 2014
Kean University creates Michael Graves School of Architecture
Winner of the AIA Gold Medal, the National Medal of the Arts, the Topaz Medallion and the Driehaus Prize for Architecture, Graves is best known for his contemporary building designs and prominent public commissions.
| Oct 27, 2014
Davis, Calif., latest city to join race to develop 'innovation hubs'
The city plans to develop two "innovation centers" with a total of seven million sf of commercial space geared for local research and technology companies.
| Oct 27, 2014
Report estimates 1.2 million people experience LEED-certified retail centers daily
The "LEED In Motion: Retail" report includes USGBC’s conceptualization of the future of retail, emphasizing the economic and social benefit of green building for retailers of all sizes and types.
| Oct 27, 2014
Top 10 green building products for 2015
Among the breakthrough products to make BuildingGreen's annual Top-10 Green Building Products list are halogen-free polyiso insulation and a high-flow-rate biofiltration system.
| Oct 27, 2014
Studio Gang Architects designs residential tower with exoskeleton-like exterior for Miami
Jeanne Gang's design reinvents the Florida room with shaded, asymmetrical balconies.
| Oct 26, 2014
New York initiates design competition for upgrading LaGuardia, Kennedy airports
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that the state would open design competitions to fix and upgrade New York City’s aging airports. But financing construction is still unsettled.
