5 must reads for the AEC industry today: October 19, 2020

1. Lower-cost metros continue to outperform pricey gateway markets, Yardi Matrix reports (Yardi Matrix)
"But year-over-year multifamily trendline remained negative at -0.3%, unchanged from July."

2. Flexible design helped the University of Kansas Strawberry Hill Behavioral Health Hospital adapt to the coronavirus (Cannon Design)
"The University of Kansas Strawberry Hill Behavioral Health Hospital had been open for just over six months when it was faced with the global coronavirus pandemic."

3. Middle-market multifamily floating above economic troubles, and investors want in (Bisnow)
"Six months into the coronavirus pandemic, real estate buyers still face a narrow set of options in a painful economy. But middle-market and affordable multifamily buildings are still attracting dollars, and investors say this sector will stay lively in 2021, whichever direction the overall economy takes."

4. E-commerce fuels industrial’s unstoppable engine (Commercial Property Executive)
"A surge in online shopping is bolstering the warehousing sector, making logistics assets unusually pandemic-resistant."

5. U.S. schools in suburbs, small cities reopening without COVID spike; big cities up next (Reuters)
"U.S. schools from kindergarten to high school have avoided a spike in COVID-19 cases, early data show, but medical experts say the real test is coming as students in large densely-populated cities such as New York and Miami return to classrooms."

The Architectural Billings Index measures the general sentiment of U.S. architecture firms about the health of the construction market by measuring 1) design billings and 2) design contracts. Any score above 50 means that, among the architecture firms surveyed, more firms than not reported seeing increases in design work vs. the previous month.