TL:DR

AIA’s Architecture Billings Index reports slight recovery in JuneAIA’s Architecture Billings Index reports slight recovery in June

Kristine KleinJuly 22, 2026

Given the conflict in Iran and high interest rates, a rebound in the  AIA’s Architecture Billings Index seemed highly unlikely. In May, the ABI score was 44.5, the lowest of the year, and it increased slightly in June to 47.3. The index still remains, as the AIA put it, in “negative territory,” meaning that most firms reported a dip in billings.

Inquiries into new projects remained high, however, the value of design contracts came in at just under 50, indicating little movement.

“Architecture firms remain mired in one of the longest running downturns in the 30-plus year history of the ABI, which now stretches to 41 months without a majority of firms reporting billings growth,” Richard Branch, AIA chief economist, said in a statement. Branch added that improvement in the coming months is pretty unlikely.

“The uncertainty over the conflict in Iran along with high interest rates and significant labor shortages will continue to weigh on construction—and architect billings over the next several months,” Branch said.

In addition to a national average, the AIA’s ABI also tracks billings regionally. Firms in the South fared the best in June, as evidenced by the score of 49.5. At just under 50, the score indicates that in the South nearly equal shares of firms reported decreases and increases.

Economic conditions appear to remain the weakest in the Northeast, where the ABI score was 44.9.

For firms specializing in institutional projects billings remain down. For firms with a mixed practice, that is work in multiple sectors, the score was the lowest, a bleak 42.7.

In June’s report, the AIA pointed out that project backlogs at firms dipped during the second quarter of the year from an average of 6.6 months in the first quarter to 6.3 months in the second. At smaller firms, those with billings under $250,000, the average dropped from 4.9 months to 3.1 months.

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My Thoughts 💭My Thoughts 💭

Data centers don’t need much architectural work. Imaging if we made these centers beautiful structures that served multiple purposes but instead it’s a race to install operation and generate revenue (or lack their of) 41 months of no to negative growth. I guess AI will fix this as well as more architecture firms go out of business.