End-of-the-Year Quarterly Cost Report Reveals Latest Construction Trends in North American Cities
As 2022 comes to a close, 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, I recommend that developers, designers, and contractors remain agile and on constant alert for any signals that the trajectory of the industry might change.”
Julian Anderson, FRICS, President of RLB North America
A few key highlights:
- 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 (GDP) recovers from a decline in Q1 and Q2, returning to 2.9% in the third quarter.
- The Architectural Billings Index (ABI) reports 46.6 during November, with architecture firms continuing to report a steady decline in their business conditions.
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