It might have been wishful thinking to assume the pandemic would cause big declines in costs for materials and labor in the construction industry.
"One predicted benefit of the pandemic has been a decline in construction costs — or at least a halt to big price increases of recent years," according to an article by Steve Brown.
Not so fast, according to recently released data as well as insight from Texas-based developers and builders surveyed by Brown surveyed for the article. "Phil Crone, executive officer of the Dallas Builders Association, said local homebuilders are seeing volatility in a number of supply chains that has actually increased prices," for instance.
Still, "Nationwide engineering and construction costs dropped in June, according to a report by IHS Markit." And construction activity has been picking up. In Dallas-Forth Worth, "construction activity had rebounded by 15% in May from where it was in March when the pandemic caused a lockdown," according to Brown.
FULL STORY: Predictions of big construction cost declines are overblown
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