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Several U.S. cities among most expensive places to build in the world

Codes and Standards

Several U.S. cities among most expensive places to build in the world

San Francisco, New York, and Boston head the domestic list.


August 2, 2021

Courtesy Pixabay

Several U.S. cities rank in the top 10 most expensive urban areas for building construction worldwide, according to a survey by global professional services company Turner & Townsend.

After Tokyo, the costliest construction market at $4,002 per sqm, and Hong Kong, at $3,894 per sqm, San Francisco ($3,720 per sqm) took the bronze. New York ($3,511 per sqm) was close behind, followed by Boston ($3,375 per sqm), Los Angeles ($3,186 per sqm), and Chicago ($2,935 per sqm).

Rising costs across all 11 U.S. markets surveyed are likely to be sustained through 2021, 2022, and 2023, according to Turner & Townsend’s forecasts. The inflation rate in San Francisco, which grew by 3.5% in 2020, is expected to reach 5% through 2022 and 2023.

The principal driver for rising costs is anticipated to be rising infrastructure spending, following President Biden’s plans to commit 1% of GDP into areas including transportation, utilities, broadband networks, and renewable energy, over eight years.

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