Building construction costs rose for both residential and non-residential for the first quarter of 2022, driven in part by higher labor costs and fuel prices.
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For residential buildings, the amount jumped 5.6%, the largest increase since the second quarter of 2021. The increase in costs was somewhat less significant for non-residential buildings at 2.6 %, according to Statistics Canada.
The rise in the price of lumber should be taken into account in this increase for residential customers, but the rise in the price of fuel should not be forgotten either.
“Contractors mentioned that a greater share of their expenses was now allocated to transporting their construction materials,” the federal agency said.
The census metropolitan area (CMA) of Montreal recorded a 4% increase for residential buildings, which is less significant than for the previous quarter.
Conversely, with a 3% increase, the Quebec metropolitan region saw one of the most marked increases of all the CMAs surveyed in Canada, particularly for warehouse and plant construction costs.
Year-over-year growth in construction costs, however, exceeded previous highs, jumping 22.6% between the first quarter of 2022 and 2021.