McGraw-Hill Construction, publisher of Southeast Construction, reported that the value of new Florida contracts signed in June for future construction declined by 37% overall. A 58% decline in the nonresidential sector, along with continued dropoff in residential, contributed to the overall downturn. The total of all new June contracts was nearly $1.9 billion, compared to last June’s $3 billion.
The nonbuilding sector improved again, however, this time by 67%, compared to a year ago, for a monthly total of about $468.1 million in new contracts. Nonresidential’s decline resulted in $675.6 million in new contracts. Residential continued to decline, with a 32% downturn in June for a $737.1-million total.
For the year-to-date, Florida’s overall total for new contracts of $13.3 billion is 26% behind 2008’s pace. So far, nonbuilding is 54% ahead of last year, with nearly $5.1 billion in new contracts. Nonresidential, which totals roughly $4.8 billion through June, is 39% behind '08. Residential is still the smallest market on a year-to-date basis. Its $3.5-billion total is 50% behind last year's pace.
