Architects see demand rise in residential sector
Architects provide an early warning system of sorts for the economy.
By the nature of their work, architects are some of the first to start work on everything from new homes and condo projects to office buildings.
So when that design work starts to dry up, you know bad times are on the way.
Conversely, when architects start getting work again, it can be a sign that a recovery might be finally taking shape.
While things are still pretty grim out there, the AIA Home Design Trends Survey is finally seeing signs of improvement after years of decline in the residential market.
New billings increased by 20 points in the AIA’s index tracking residential construction activity while new project inquiries have jumped 30 points.
Technically, residential activity was still declining in the first half the year, but at a dramatically slower rate, one that points to a coming rebound.
The hottest sector, so far, is work designing more affordable homes, with demand for custom and luxury homes, as well as vacation and second homes, still extremely weak, the AIA reports.
The Northeast is shaping up to be a leader in this trend, the survey finds.
Any recovery could not come too soon for the battered architectural industry, which has astronomically high unemployment rates.
Tom Keane, executive director of the Boston Society of Architects, tells me as many as 40 percent of local architects are now out of work.
“There is a sense now the market has bottomed out,’’ he noted in a recent interview.
We’ll see, but it sure beats the doom and gloom of the fall of 2008.
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