How are you dealing with this creepy recession in the Real Estate market in US?
It is Real Estate and all related activities: construction, architecture, viz industry, etc.
How are you making a living?
In Florida, this recession is comparable to what happened after 9/11 and
I've read the worst is yet to come!
Crack and bankruptcy in major Home-builders, massive layoffs ....!
What are you going to do?
Heeeelllllppppp!

Heeeelllllppppp!

I've heard that the slowdown here in the United States is affecting the spec home builders more than the high end custom home design market. Those guys build when it's convenient for them.

Looking at your other posts it sounds like you've run into some bad luck... What's going on?

Where do you live and work?
In a cave...?

Heeeelllllppppp!

Move to Dubai or China or whatever...

Where do you live and work?
In a cave...?

I think you live in a cave called Florida. I think the whole country has slowed some, but I haven't heard of many places being affected as badly as you are describing.

Fact is, this is a big country and different areas of the country are going to be react differently. That's the nature of the market. I suggest you move on out of there, usually the commercial market is a year or two behind the housing market.

In Florida, this recession is comparable to what happened after 9/11 and
I've read the worst is yet to come!


What happened after 9/11?

The Dallas/Fort Worth area is still growing and/or changing. We have been getting alot of work latetly, not high design stuff, but work that pays and keeps me employed. I see no reason why someone could not get a job in this local market. Unless you were overly selective and did not like to get a paycheck.

What happened after 9/11?

The US economy had a major downturn for about 3-4 years, it really went to pot!

What happened after 9/11?

There was about a 3 yr. recession, but one that we knew we would easily bounce back from.

I don't think this affecting much else than spec. home building and perhaps a slight bit of the custom home share. We surely aren't affected, as our marketing year to date has been as good as ever...exceeding new business development in the midwest commercial market, though.

Most of the housing that has really slowed down is not designed by architects anyway...

Scary part is that the dollar is not worth a thing anymore. Canadians are coming across the border to spend there money now... No disrespect to Canada, but I remember when I was a kid and no one would accept a Canadian quarter because of the exchange rates.

You could always move to Calgary or Edmonton Canada for a while. There is quite a bit of work here, but then again you would have to endure our wonderful winters. With the price of oil being strong and a housing market that is equally strong things are good. Calgary has already seen quite an influx in its downtown core. Quite a few towers going up. I should clarify when I say towers 30-40 storeys. There is already talk of the market possibly shifting similar to that of the US market if consumers and homeowners are not smart with their mortgages. As for work there is currently enough work to keep everyone busy, now whether or not you find that work interesting is another story. Slow times are nice too as long as you still are in the black or getting a pay check. Take this time to pick up some additional training or revisit previous projects and do a postmortem on them to see how things could have been done better. Things will work itself out.

a little off topic but, I flew to calgary last december and drove to banff/ lake louise and from the air calgary looked like a huge sprawling city of a max of 3 story buildings. so i saw it as a fairly low lying city to me. Its good that towers are going up, less urban sprawl. so there's defintely a need for architects. its a very nice place but banff is like 1-2 hrs north of calgary and south of edmonton i think and banff was pretty cold to begin with. north of banff must get really cold. i would love to live up there, snowboarding haven. I'd recommend it.

My fear is that the worst is on the horizon in the US. The inflated value of housing in some areas is shocking and people are using there housing value as a line of credit. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt with modest incomes. My house, in Ohio, could be valued at 8-10 times as much in Los Angeles or San Fran. CRAZY! There are areas in the US where people are buying a home that they can't afford through variable, interest only loans. When the real mortgage payments begin, and the value of their home didn't double, like they anticipated, they are screwed. I fear that the housing market will adjust itself, in the same manner that the 'dot coms' did last decade, and a lot more people are going to default and declare bankruptcy. I feel for people in these situations.

Related to work, we feel it a little, but our anchor is civic and planning work. Governments have money when developer don't.

By the way, drichards, Canada does look great! I've recently taken up skiing and snowboarding and I hear that Calgary is spectacular!

I would like to hear some colleagues from Florida!

Most of the housing that has really slowed down is not designed by architects anyway...

Exactly

We are a horse of a different color. I moved from Tampa (We'll consider it South Florida) to Pensacola and they are very different.
The housing market here never saw the extreme spike like it did down south, not to say it didnt grow, but prices have been relatively reasonable.
I believe it is the large spec home builders and condo developers that are feeling the pinch. There was a huge development slated to go in a right when the market turned and the development has slowing shrunk and now I dont know what it's doing. A number of condos have fallen through because there is no market for it.
As for personal work...we are doing great. A little over worked and understaffed in fact. But we do commercial, university, city, and healthcare (they always have money). We never got into the condo craze.
I think it matters what market and what field. As far as I know friends in Tampa are still doing plenty of work; it may not be glamorous, but it keeps the bills paid.

By the way, drichards, Canada does look great! I've recently taken up skiing and snowboarding and I hear that Calgary is spectacular!

Canada is great, :cheers:

I've spent some time in Toronto and Montreal and I was thouroughly impressed by those cities. I am not currently looking to relocate, but have always been curious, does anyone know how difficult it is for a U.S. citizen to work in Canada, either temporarily or permanently?

I do work for a few spec home builders here in SLC, and they do put alot into their inventory, which is risky when the market dips as it is currently. However, most of them build starter homes, and at the rate of growth in this area, they are not in any trouble. The market is slowing substantially for higher-end homes, but as someone mentioned above, those are built more as needed rather than cookie cutter developments.

Still I am a little concerned, seeing a number of contractors and realtors out of work lately. Fortunely I work in a number of other areas that shouldn't affect the workload too much.

mperna, it's not that hard at all... find a job up here and apply for a free trade or "skilled worker/professional" work visa:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/index.asp

DCLXVI,
I must say, Toronto seems less inviting when you refer to it as 'the 9th Circle of Hell.' I dunno, I might go with out work to avoid that one...:rolleyes:

Looks like a good time to update this thread, it is even more relevant now, things have in fact become worse than several months ago. These are long term economic effects that take time and do not go away easily.

The housing slump has permeated into more segments of the market. Government work in an election year has not been enough to keep most offices busy. I know offices that have reduced time for architects and draftspersons to avoid layoffs. The local government devised a bonus of between $15,000 to $25,000 ( free money) to buy a home in order to help revive the housing slump, even with, this sales move very slowly, car sales are frozen.

Just found these articles from wednesday:

"Non-residential construction outlook weakens: AIA"

The Architecture Billings Index fell two points to 39.7 last month, the lowest since the survey began in 1995, the American Institute of Architects said.

The March decline follows a nine-point drop the previous month, and suggests weaker nonresidential construction activity about nine to 12 months in the future, the AIA said. A reading below 50 indicates contraction.

http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSN2117960320080423


Last month's decline, which followed an 8.9-point drop in February, is ``emblematic of the various struggling sectors in the overall economy,'' the institute said. The Architecture Billings Index is a leading indicator of development of apartments, offices, warehouses and other commercial buildings, with about nine to 12 months between billings and construction spending.

``My interpretation is that a lot of developers and owners out there said, `Do I really want to put a building up in this environment,' and decided to sit on their hands for a little while,'' Kermit Baker, chief economist of the American Institute of Architects, said in an interview.

Architecture billings declined in all four U.S. regions tracked by the institute, dropping the most in the Midwest, which had a score of 36.9. The Northeast and West each had a score of 38.7, and the South had a score of 45.3, the institute said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aQ_wLR4ElRtk&refer=us

Move to Dubai or China or whatever...

Good idea! Welcome to China :):)

How are you dealing with this creepy recession?

Buying up all the US dollars... ;)

<strolls off to bathe in green rectangles>

I am looking for work!

When it came time to cut payroll I was laid off recently here in Memphis. Several others were included in the cut from our office. As it turns out there have been huge layoffs happening all over town. So, I am looking for work elsewhere. I just got back from a couple of interviews in Biloxi, Mississippi. There is extensive reconstruction on the gulf coast following the hurricanes. From the looks of it, Katrina didn't leave much for Gustav to damage.

I am also searching overseas, although somewhat unsuccessfully. :( I have sent roughly 15 emails to firms in Europe including the UK. It has always been a dream of mine to find work in an exotic location. Now seems like the perfect time to get out of the United States and travel. If anyone on this board has any leads please contact me! I can send a resume, portfolio, and references. My savings are running out quickly and I am pressed into a decision as soon as possible. I hope to hear from someone soon.
:not worth

Really sorry to hear that Archie, im afraid things arent any better in the midwest, luckily im still pretty busy but i know alot of guys that are really struggling at the moment.

I wish you the best of luck in some trying times

the dominoes have been falling now, bad loans lead to foreclosures, foreclosures killing the value of commoditized loans, investment banks failing - all of them. The last two independent finance houses converted to conventional banks, now under rule of the Federal bank rather than Securities Exchange Commission. There may be more fallout, but that is probably the worst of it. Fed is guaranteeing everything to keep markets from crashing entirely. So architects may be hosed, but the entire economy has not tanked as in 1929.

Thanks for the kind wishes. I will keep you all updated on the job search. Of course, if anyone has any leads please private message me.

After a record couple of years here in Norway, the numbers for architects are also slowing down now. The unemployment numbers have been record low lately, but now they not just flattening out, but also going up.

Time for a couple of nice jobs that will last a year or two while all this sorts itself out...

Good luck archie1942.

That part time teaching job is looking better by the minute!

Hi All,My first post on this great forum but I will add my 2 cents worth.:):)Down under in New Zealand we are the same, only a nation of 4m people and the bottom end has fallen out of the housing market. Commercial still OK, I have a number of large commercial projects (large by NZ standards anyway) pending but getting clients and tenants to commit is a problem:mad::mad: My practice is only small, I kept it small at 4 people exactly for this reason, I could see this coming a year ago. We ar surviving on bits and pieces but not much you can really get your teeth into.

Firms focusing on Government, Health and education are OK.

S.

good thing adobe and energy efficient homes/facilities are still going up in value