This may not reflect directly on Maui real estate, but across the nation, architects are seeing a decline in business.

The drop may signal a “sustained'' decline in demand from developers of warehouses, offices and apartment buildings as the economy slows, the institute said. Weakness in the U.S. housing market is spreading to other parts of the economy and prompting economists to strengthen their forecasts of a recession. A Bloomberg News survey taken earlier this month showed chances of a recession were now even, compared with 40 percent in January.

Nor directly on point, but not good news either.