Construction Costs Stable, for Now
Demand for construction in Seattle is up, but the costs—not so much, according to a new Q1 report on 12 major metros nationwide.
Seattle saw only a moderate increase in such costs between Jan. ’13 and Jan. ’14: about 3.5%, according to Rider Levett Bucknall research. In short, contractors and material suppliers are keeping up with new projects, Rider principal Chris Burris tells us. Still, looking ahead, if the increase in demand quickens—a real possibility in Seattle—it’s likely that GCs, subcontractors, and material suppliers won’t be able to keep up, and then costs will start rising faster, he says.
So far, that hasn't happened. Chris says that some materials have seen modest increases, but prices on base metals such as copper have dropped (does that mean we shouldn't have stripped our neighbors pipes?) and competition among suppliers has kept materials inflation under wraps. Chris adds that labor costs are rising somewhat due to set increases in collective bargaining agreements. According to Rider, the cities nationwide with the highest year-over-year increases in construction costs are Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, New York and DC; more modest increases were seen by Denver and Phoenix (2.2% to 3.5%).
