A Busy Construction Market, Increased Competition, and COVID-19 Are Impacting Construction Costs

This represents a 1.01% quarterly reduction from the First Quarter 2020. This is the first time Turner’s projected quarterly Building Cost Index adjustment has reduced in value since the Second Quarter 2010.

“Trade contractor competition has increased in many areas as they work to secure backlog due to uncertainty they have about future opportunities. We expect the third quarter will serve to more clearly define the fluctuation of escalation of cost in the construction industry,” said Attilio Rivetti, the Turner vice president responsible for compiling the Cost Index.

Turner has prepared the construction cost forecast for more than 80 years. The building costs and price trends tracked by the Turner Building Cost Index may or may not reflect regional conditions in any given quarter. The Cost Index is determined by several factors considered on a nationwide basis, including labor rates and productivity, material prices and the competitive condition of the marketplace. This index does not necessarily conform to other published indices because others do not generally take all of these factors into account.