Construction activity on healthcare projects across the U.S. should remain robust for at least another year or two, according to a survey that measures the market’s health by assessing proposal opportunities for architects, engineers and environmental firms.
PSMJ Resources’ Quarterly Market Forecast found the percentage of firms reporting an increase in healthcare-related project proposals during the third quarter of 2018 was 48 percentage points more than those that saw a decrease. This is the Net Plus/Minus Index, which PSMJ computes by subtracting the percentage of participants who responded negatively from the percentage who responded positively.
Among the four submarkets researched, continuing care facilities, with a 61 percent NPMI and medical office buildings at 47 percent, outpaced hospitals (31 percent) and medical laboratories (16 percent). This quarterly survey marked nine consecutive years of positive quarterly results for all four submarkets; the last time any submarket reported as negative was the third quarter of 2009 when medical labs had a -2 percent index. PSMJ uses proposal activity to gauge long-term outlook because it is the earliest leading indicator in the lifecycle of the design and construction process.
The survey typically receives 150-300 responses from subscriber A/E firms each quarter, with 213 participating in the third-quarter survey.
