Statistics Canada releases Q4 figures
Residential building construction costs increased by 1% in Q4 2022, in the wake of a 2.5% increase during the previous quarter, according to Statistics Canada.
The national statistics agency cited multiple domestic and global pressures as the major drivers of the increase.
“Skilled labour shortages and cost of materials, particularly fuel, concrete, and steel, were reported by contractors as key issues across the construction industry,” StatCan said.
On a quarterly basis, substantial gains were seen in the costs of equipment (2.6%), metal fabrications (2.4%), and concrete (2.2%), while costs of wood, plastics, and composites had a slower 0.5% increase.
How much did non-residential building costs increase?
Non-residential construction costs grew by 1.6% in Q4, following a 2.1% increase during the previous quarter.
StatCan said that the mounting costs of non-residential steel (up by 2.5%), concrete (2.3%), and metal fabrication (2.3%) fed into these gains.
“Of all non-residential buildings surveyed, the cost to build bus depots with maintenance and repair facilities and factories (both up by 1.9%) rose the most in the 11-CMA composite,” StatCan said.
Higher-demand markets saw the greatest increases in Q4.
“While growth in non-residential building construction costs across most CMAs slowed in the fourth quarter, Moncton (3.6%) was the only CMA to record its largest quarterly price increase of the year,” StatCan said. “Toronto (2.4%) and Ottawa (1.4%) recorded the next largest quarterly increases in non-residential construction costs.”
