More on Construction Cost

CoStar.com has an informative interview with Kenneth Simonson, Chief Economist for Associated General Contractors of America. He was not optimistic about construction cost coming down particularly because of the sustained growth in developing countries like China and India. He stated steel and asphalt are the two main materials busting commercial budgets.

Source: CoStar.com

Construction Spending Up In July in Some Categories

Overall construction spending last month inch down 0.6%. However, while construction spending was down in residential and commercial categories, there were a few bright spots in their report . Particularly in Public and Transportation related construction. Any growth in good news. I was surprised but happy to see it. Investment News had a great summary article reporting on the news. See the following list below. See the following list below.

Construction Spending
Source: Investment News

Residential..................... -2.1% from June 2008
.......................................-27.1% from July 2007
Office..............................+2.1% from June 2008
.......................................+16.8% from July 2007
Health Care....................+0.1% from June 2008
.......................................+6.3% from July 2007
Education.......................+1.7% from June 2008
.......................................+6.3% from July 2007
Transportation...............+3.8% from June 2008
.......................................+11.5% from July 2007
Public Construction.......+1.4% from June 2008
.......................................+8.1% from July 2007