Hasta La Ideas

Optimism just doesn’t seem at all safe anymore, does it? After three months of climbing and leaving the organization’s chief economist Kermit Baker even sounding a bit more at ease than usual, the AIA‘s Architecture Billings Index has taken another dive. The last report in May showed that we were finally inching toward that blessed 50 mark, which would indicate growth, coming in at 48.4. But now the latest has the industry back at 45.8, leaving everyone surprised and more than a little glum. BusinessWeek‘s Next blog talked to principals at HOK and Perkins + Will about the release and both sound sure that the industry will eventually rebound, but immediate optimism isn’t much suggested at the moment. Here’s once-again-all-business-Baker’s statement, explaining his thoughts on what’s wrong and how to fix things more quickly:

“The overriding issue affecting the entire real estate sector is unusual caution on the part of lending institutions to provide credit for construction projects that apparently would be successful in this economic environment.”

He added, “An amendment has passed the House that would help lenders and borrowers as they attempt to work out their loans under terms that are mutually acceptable, avoid large numbers of commercial foreclosures, and free up credit that can be used more constructively. If this passes the in Senate then some much needed relief will available for the struggling design and construction industry.”

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