O'Connor Construction Management has been invited to present at the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering's 53rd Annual Meeting in Seattle, WA, on July 1, 2009 (http://www.aacei.org/annualmeeting/). Written by O'Connor's Washington, DC Regional Manager, Basil Alexander, the workshop will cover "Historical Lessons for Today: How the Savings and Loan Crisis Affected the US Construction Sector." The abstract of this presentation is as follows:

In light of the recent failures in US mortgage markets, erratic fluctuations in the international costs and demands of construction commodities, and 2008 third quarter bank and market failures across the globe this paper reviews of the nations' most recent financial crisis, the infamous Savings and Loan Crisis, which contributed to a national recession. The conclusions drawn will shed light on what we might expect in 2009-2010 in terms of construction sector activity, construction escalation rates, and construction materials pricing.

The 1986-1991 crisis which hinged on the collapse of nearly 800 savings and loans associations was caused by several factors present in today's market – including poor lending policies, under-regulated financial sectors, and decreasing property values – along with other unique factors. The effects of the crisis on residential and commercial construction sectors are examined though the lens of empirical construction activity and cost data aggregated from governmental and commercial sources.