The industry has been in decline for almost 12 months, according to Australian Institute of Architects ACT branch president Tony Trobe, who said forecasters at a recent breakfast forum should have handed out ''razor blades'' instead of croissants.

''To some extent, we're like the canary in the coalmine for the building industry,'' he said.

''This will flow through to the industry in the future … If we're struggling, it's a sign that things might tighten up in the future.''

Mr Trobe said numerous clients at his firm TT Architecture had cancelled projects, including a significant residential job worth in excess of $1 million.

Two employees have already been let go from the Kingston-based firm and Mr Trobe said he had received reports of cuts elsewhere across the capital.

''There are people that have been made redundant, more than small numbers,'' he said. ''There's a bit of a panic going on.''

Mr Trobe said the downturn was due to Canberrans ''just getting cautious'' because of prolonged negative sentiment throughout the industry.

The Property Industry Confidence Survey, issued by the Property Council of Australia and ANZ on Thursday, recorded local industry member sentiment at 96 on the index, where a score of 100 would be considered neutral.

It was the lowest score of any state or territory in the country, alongside Tasmania, and signalled an uncertainty that Mr Trobe said was lethal to the industry.

''Canberra does tend to run in the political wind and sentiment is really important,'' he said.

''A lot of people are waiting to see what happens [in September]. Wait and see is the kiss of death for us.''

Mr Trobe said he wasn't aware of any cases of clients cutting costs by going ahead with construction without the services of architects, adding that their position at the ''sharp end of everything'' meant they were the first to suffer industry blows.

The downturn has also begun to affect the wider industry, according to Housing Industry Association ACT executive director Neil Evans, who said there would be job losses due to the ongoing ''lack of activity''.

''We were very busy for the last two years and I think a lot of people came to the ACT due to the high levels of activity,'' he said.

''Anecdotally, we hear that a lot of people have left and are leaving for mining … When you've got a slow housing industry, you've got a slowing economy.''

Real Estate Institute of the ACT spokesman Craig Bright said the subdued market was likely to bounce back after September's federal election.

''There's no question that the market's not booming,'' he said.

''The closer you get to an election, the market tends to drop away … It certainly doesn't help when they call a nine-month election [lead-up].''