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DCD Design Cost Data

Cost Trends


Labor Rates for Major South Midwest Cities May 2023 

Labor Rates for Major South Midwest Cities May 2023 

Posted: May 12, 2023 | Cost Trends

Labor rates shown here are current Davis-Bacon labor rates for South Midwest cities. These will help you determine wage rates for your estimates and bids, especially for publicly-funded projects where the payment of locally prevailing wages and fringe benefits are required by law.

Davis-Bacon wage rates are required for contractors or subcontractors performing on federally funded or assisted contracts in excess of $2,000. These wage rates are based on up-to-date data from the Department of Labor.

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May 2023 Construction Costs

May 2023 Construction Costs

Posted: May 5, 2023 | Cost Trends

The housing market is still soft and not aided at all by the developing banking crisis. In the commercial arena, the banking uncertainty is tamping down the recovery and there are reports of projects that are being “slow walked” until the financial dust settles. There is talk of recession, but most feel that it will not surface until 2024. The infrastructure initiative is showing results, with job growth for civil and heavy construction up 7,000 for March. Contractors report a healthy backlog for the next 6 months and material shortages are becoming a thing of the past.

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Labor Rates for Major Southeast Cities March 2023

Labor Rates for Major Southeast Cities March 2023

Posted: March 31, 2023 | Cost Trends

Current Davis-Bacon labor rates for Southeast cities. These rates help you determine wage rates for your estimates and bids, especially for publicly-funded projects where the payment of locally prevailing wages and fringe benefits are required by law.

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BNi Construction Costs 2023

BNi Construction Costs 2023

Posted: March 3, 2023 | Cost Trends

Housing continues its slide but at a reduced rate. Improbable as it seems, housing is gaining some ground and buyers are returning despite elevated mortgage rates. It's still not at last year's levels but a welcome sign in the economy. In addition, 25,000 jobs were added in the construction industry with 20,000 in commercial and 5,000 in residential. One cautionary note is that economists are now predicting office occupancy may not return to pre-pandemic levels for decades. As a result, we shouldn't expect any upturn in office construction. We still need to deal with the continuing labor shortage, but all in all it's still a good time for construction.

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BNi Building News Construction Costs 2023

BNi Building News Construction Costs 2023

Posted: December 16, 2022 | Cost Trends

Housing continues its slide, joined by declines in both office and hospitality construction. However, this is offset by just about everything else to lodge a healthy 12 percent increase in overall construction spending. Much of this increase is due to elevated material costs, but the net effect is still a 2 to 3 percent actual gain. Inflation remains high but has begun to level off — still something to watch. The labor shortage is holding back the commercial rise, with no solution on the horizon. Nevertheless, it’s still a good time to feel positive about the future for commercial construction.

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