Reed building starts fall, civil works rise; bid prices skid; commercial vacancies jump

The value of nonresidential building starts plunged 23 percentin March, while civil works starts jumped 15 percent, Reed Construction Data reported [April 9], based on data it compiled. Comparing the first quarters of 2009 and 2008, building starts fell 8 percentin value but 18 percent in square footage. The value of the largest building category, schools/colleges, was unchanged, but retail fell -16 percent hospitals/clinics, -1 percent; and office, -25 percent. Civil works rose 28 percent in value, with gains of 2 percent for roads/highways, 11 percent for water/sewage, 96 percent for miscellaneous (including power projects), and even larger jumps for the small airport and dams/marine categories, according to an April 10 Data DIGest report.

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