The Florida construction market reached a turning point in 2006 when the malaise in the local housing market morphed into a full-blown decline. Three key trends work against the Florida market: First, the housing market has shown little improvement in 2007. Second, population growth has slowed. Third, recent legislation to rollback taxes by 10% could, in the short-term, hamper state finances and curtail local government spending on education and public works.
Taken together, these factors make chances for a gain in Florida construction during 2007 remote. Construction starts are expected to fall for the second consecutive year, the first back-to-back declines since 1990, according to McGraw-Hill Construction Analytics, which like ENR is a unit of the McGraw-Hill Cos.