Current Building Economy

There is a misconception in the media about construction cost today. The media has stated that the cost of labor and available construction projects are down thus contractors are dropping their prices in order to get work. What the media does not state is that cost of steel, concrete, waste/dumpsters, petroleum based pvc products (plumbing), copper, electrical, air conditioning components and of course gas for transportation is still rising. The only products where there has been a decline in material cost is wood and drywall. Unfortunately in south Florida we build more with concrete than wood. Our current cost estimates for residential projects are coming in at or above the construction cost of the last two years. What we are also encountering is the downturn in qualified labor. Since so many trades have had layoffs crews are thin and not as readily available.