AIA National: Economic Impact of COVID-19
On April 1, 2020, AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker, Hon. AIA hosted the first webinar of a four-part series on COVID-19’s economic impact on the architecture industry.
Highlights
- Architecture billings were generally weak in 2019 but strengthened moving into 2020
- Heading into the COVID-19 pandemic, billings, design contracts, and project inquiries were surprisingly healthy
- At least half of firms saw interest in new projects decline in March
- Three-quarters of firms have seen problems with current projects (delays in permitting, projects put on hold, financing, etc.)
- 83% of firms expected a revenue decline in March with more than one-third estimating revenue will be at least 10% below expectations
- 94% of firms expected a revenue decline in April with 57% anticipating a revenue decline exceeding 10%
- The main impact, so far, is increased staff working remotely and limiting in-person meetings
- 48% of firms have all or virtually all staff working remotely
- 31% of firms have some staff working remotely
Upcoming webinars in the series
- Session 2 – Residential Focus – Wednesday, April 8, 3 pm EDT
- Session 3 – Employment Data Focus – Wednesday, April 15, 3 pm EDT
- Session 4 – Architectural Firm Data Focus – Wednesday, April 22, 3 pm EDT
Log in at AIAU to get access to the replay and the upcoming sessions.
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