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After several months of positive – albeit slow – growth, the Architecture Billings Index fell by almost three points in April.

The ABI, an indicator of construction spending to come in the next nine to 12 months, ended the month of April with a score of 47.6, according to the American Institute of Architecture. Any score below a 50 indicates a decrease in architecture firm billings compared to the month previous, while any score below a 50 indicates an increase.

The ABI nationally had been above 50 for each month through 2011 until April and ended March with a score of 50.5.

Regionally speaking, the West (47.7) and the South (48.3) followed the negative national trend, while the Northeast (51.2) and Midwest (51.1) both saw increases in architectural billings compared to a month previous.

Multifamily residential saw the largest increase nationally in architectural billings from a month previous, recording a score of 53.9. The ABI for commercial/industrial (49.9), institutional (45.9) and mixed-use (45.2) all decreased from a month previous.