According to an analysis made by the New York Building Congress, New York City local construction costs have increased from .8% to 4.9% through the first three quarters of 2010 with construction spending in New York remaining above $20 billion a year. Nationwide, construction costs have increased between .1% and 7.2%.
Using a series of surveys in its analysis including Engineering News-Record’s Building Cost Index which shows that construction costs in New York City have risen by 3.3% in 2010, after a .9% decline in 2009 while nationwide, costs have increased by 5.6%, the Building Congress was able to deduce that recent cost increases are more from changes in volatile commodity prices such as diesel fuel, copper aluminum and steel, rather than by wage increases. The data analyzed does not break down labor costs as a separate unit. Another survey used in the Building Congress’ analysis was that of the New York metropolitan region by Rider Levett Bucknall which uses the same data as ENR but also includes estimates of bid price changes. The RLB survey finds that construction costs in the area have increased by .8% so far in 2010, after a 3.4% decline in 2009.