By Rider Levett Bucknall and BEX Staff
International property and construction consultancy firm Rider Levett Bucknall has released its Quarterly Cost Report providing an on-the-ground picture of construction activity in 14 key North American markets.
The construction industry continues to face a variety of challenges. Labor remains in relatively short supply. Supply chain issues, while easing, remain. Costs continue to escalate, albeit at a slowing pace. The Federal Reserve’s efforts to crush pandemic-era inflation have started to work, resulting in a downturn for the housing industry and depressing starts in non-residential construction.
“As we navigate through the many and varied challenges, and contemplate the year ahead,” said Julian Anderson, President of RLB North America. “I recommend that developers, designers, and contractors remain agile and on constant alert for any signals that the trajectory of the industry might change”
Quarterly Cost Report notes:
- The U.S. quarterly national average increase in construction cost is approximately 1.88%, Boston, Phoenix, Portland, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. all experienced greater-than-average quarterly increases.
- The U.S. Gross Domestic Product recovers from a decline in Q1 and Q2, returning to 2.9% in the third quarter.
- The Architectural Billings Index reports 46.6 during November, with architecture firms continuing to report a steady decline in their business conditions.
Phoenix’s 2022 Comparative Cost Index was up 8.21% from 2021. Of the 12 major markets included in the report, Chicago saw the largest increase, rising 12.02%. At 5.06%, Honolulu showed the smallest change.
The complete QCR report is available here.