Q4 Apartment Building Construction Prices Rose 1.1%
February 22, 2018
Contractors’ prices for the construction of new apartment buildings rose 1.1% in the fourth quarter compared with the previous quarter.
Prices for new apartment building projects rose in all seven census metropolitan areas surveyed, led by Vancouver (+2.0%). Contractors reported rising costs for lumber, concrete formwork, plastic, copper and fuel-related inputs. Rebuilding activities in the United States after an active 2017 hurricane season contributed to higher prices for these materials. From August to October, four hurricanes made landfall in the United States causing widespread damage.
Over the four quarters ending in December, contractors’ prices for new apartment building construction rose by 4.3%, with Vancouver (+7.5%) leading the increase.
The Apartment Building Construction Price Index is a quarterly series that measures the changes in contractors’ selling prices of new apartment building construction in seven census metropolitan areas: Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa–Gatineau (Ontario part), Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver.
Selling prices include the costs of materials, labour and equipment, provincial sales taxes where applicable, and contractors’ overhead and profit. The costs of land, land assembly, design and development, as well as real estate fees, are excluded. Value added taxes such as the federal GST and the harmonized sales tax are excluded.
Source: Statistics Canada, www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/180213/dq180213c-eng.htm
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