The commercial component of the index, which includes retail, warehouse and office, dropped 1.6% in August, while the institutional sector, encompassing healthcare and education projects, tumbled 14.8%. On a positive note, the DMI remained 4% higher than in August 2022.
The sizable decline in the institutional sector stems from a deceleration in education, healthcare and amusement planning activity, according to Dodge.
“It’s likely that the full year of tightening lending standards and high interest rates has begun to affect institutional planning, which has otherwise been resistant to these market headwinds,” Martin said in the release.
