Despite Housing Bump, Georgia Contracts Tumble 11% in April
A 61% jump in the value of new residential projects couldn’t overcome sharp declines in the nonresidential and infrastructure categories, as the overall value of new Georgia contracts fell 11% in April, according to McGraw-Hill Construction. In all, the company estimated the state’s April contracts at roughly $718.3 million.
During April, Georgia contractors gained $443.2 million of new residential work, well ahead of the year-ago volume of $275.8 million. But the nonresidential market fell by 51% to deliver just $199.8 million in new contracts. The nonbuilding sector, which includes infrastructure, dropped 42% compared to a year ago for a $75.2-million tally.
On a year-to-date basis, Georgia’s 2012 construction contracts total nearly $11.7 billion, well ahead of the nearly $3.2 billion recorded at the same time a year ago.
That gain is mostly due to a surge in the nonbuilding sector, which was boosted by Southern Co.’s Plant Vogtle nuclear powerplant project moving ahead to construction earlier this year. As a result, the nonbuilding category now stands at roughly $9 billion, compared to last year’s $499 million estimate through April of 2011.
The nonresidential building market is 20% behind 2011’s early pace, however, with a $1.2-billion tally through April. So far, McGraw-Hill estimates Georgia’s new residential contracts have totaled nearly $1.5 billion to date.
