Southeast contractors are poised to remain busy as contracting activity continues at an accelerated pace. At the same time, some sectors that have driven much of the Southeast construction market’s growth over the last few years, such as multifamily residential, are beginning to slow markedly, thereby raising a note of caution for builders.
“What’s slowing down some of the deals is the price pressures,” says Dan Kaufman, regional president for JE Dunn Construction, Atlanta. While economics is beginning to impact certain projects, some contractors are growing nervous as they also wonder about potential election-year impacts and historical boom-and-bust cycles. Still, a broadening swath of projects keeps moving forward. Lenders may nix a project one week, says Kaufman, “but then you go to the marketing department and they’ve got four opportunities this week that total $200 million. It still feels pretty good, it’s just that I feel a little bit of caution in the marketplace.”