Construction Business Sentiment Index Falls for Fourth Consecutive Month... September Also Forecast to Decline [Real Estate AtoZ]

Construction Business Sentiment Index Falls for Fourth Consecutive Month
CBSI Drops 4.9 Points to 68.2 in August
Companies Remain Pessimistic Below 100
September Outlook Also Down to 65.5

The business sentiment index for construction companies has declined for four consecutive months.

The Korea Construction Industry Institute announced on September 4 that the Construction Business Survey Index (CBSI) for the previous month recorded 68.2, down 4.9 points from the previous month. The CBSI quantifies the business sentiment felt by construction companies. A reading below 100 indicates that more companies view the current business conditions pessimistically, while a reading above 100 means more companies are optimistic.

Lee Ji-hye, a research fellow at the Korea Construction Industry Institute, said, "The construction business sentiment in August continued its downward trend for the fourth consecutive month, falling to the 60-point range," adding, "The difficult conditions in the construction market are persisting."

By segment, the construction performance index dropped 9.5 points to 75.9, while the new orders index fell 5.6 points to 63.6. The material supply index, construction receivables index, and order backlog index also declined by 5.5 points, 4.7 points, and 1.5 points, respectively.

Looking at new orders by type of construction, the housing sector fell 10.1 points to 64.5, and the civil engineering sector decreased by 2.0 points to 68.7. In contrast, the non-residential building sector rose by 1.6 points to 64.6.

By company size, the index for large companies dropped 0.6 points, for medium-sized companies 7.4 points, and for small companies 6.6 points.

Additionally, the Seoul index decreased by 7.8 points to 79.3, while the regional index dropped 5.8 points to 55.1.

Meanwhile, the outlook index for September is projected to be 65.5, which is 2.7 points lower than the performance index for August.