Construction Cost Update Highlights
CoreLogic® extensively monitors the pricing trends surrounding construction materials and labor for the building industry. We do this to provide insight into the construction cost fluctuations that affect underwriting.
We release monthly construction cost bulletins to provide timely insight into the quickly changing market and ensure that our insights into the construction industry are relevant.
In the coming months, monthly cost updates will be available on latest version of CoreLogic Underwriting | Residential Valuation, formerly known as RCT Express® and CoreLogic Underwriting | Commercial Valuation, formerly known as Commercial Express®.
Please get in touch with your CoreLogic representative if you have any questions. You can also view our Construction Database Pricing Methodology white paper to gain additional insight into how we populate cost values.
Report Highlights:
- The national average material cost in the U.S. increased by 0.5% over the past quarter and displayed a 4.9% decrease over the past 12 months.
- The national average material cost in Canada showed a slight 0.9% increase over the past quarter and displayed a 12-month decrease of 1.7%.
- National average labor costs have increased over the past quarter by 0.5% in the U.S. In Canada, there was no significant change. These minor changes over this period seem to indicate slowing rates of cost increases, as 12-month averages have increased by 2.4% and 0.3%, respectively.
Data in these charts represent changes in construction costs over the preceding month, quarter (three months), and year (12 months) and are a comparison of the following data deliveries.
Month: November 2023 Data to December 2023 data
Quarter: September 2023 Data to December 2023 data
Year: December 2022 Data to December 2023 data
| United States | Canada | |||||
| Month | Quarter | Year | Month | Quarter | Year | |
| Aluminum Conduit | 1.2% | 1.7% | 4.7% | 1.2% | 2.1% | 6.8% |
| Asphalt Shingles | 0.4% | 2.1% | 3.7% | 0.6% | 2.1% | 9.2% |
| Concrete Block | 0.5% | 1.3% | 7.3% | 0.4% | 1.5% | 6.7% |
| Drywall | 0.5% | 1.0% | 6.8% | 0.3% | 0.8% | 5.9% |
| Felt Paper | 0.2% | 1.3% | 8.6% | 0.4% | 1.7% | 7.0% |
| Galvanized Pipe | -0.3% | -1.2% | -1.7% | 0.3% | 0.0% | 1.3% |
| Lumber | 0.5% | 0.8% | -30.7% | 0.4% | -0.3% | -33.0% |
| Plywood | 0.5% | -0.4% | -29.0% | 0.1% | 0.7% | -18.9% |
| Ready Mix | 0.8% | 1.9% | 10.5% | 0.3% | 0.6% | 3.6% |
| Rebar | 0.8% | 1.5% | 1.6% | 0.6% | 1.5% | 1.6% |
| Steel Deck | 3.6% | 5.2% | 7.9% | 1.6% | 3.3% | 9.7% |
| Steel Stud | 1.3% | 2.2% | 2.4% | 0.9% | 2.1% | 4.2% |
| Structural Steel | 0.5% | 1.5% | 3.1% | 0.6% | 2.1% | 7.3% |
| 1/2″ Copper Pipe | 0.7% | 0.9% | 8.2% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 4.7% |
| United States | Canada | |||||
| Month | Quarter | Year | Month | Quarter | Year | |
| Material National Average | 0.4% | 0.5% | -4.9% | 0.3% | 0.9% | -1.7% |
| Labor National Average | 0.3% | 0.5% | 2.4% | -0.5% | 0.0% | 0.3% |
Underwriting National Average
The Underwriting National Average reflects the change in overall building costs.
| Residential Valuation (RCT) | Commercial | Agricultural | ||||
| Month | Quarter | Month | Quarter | Month | Quarter | |
| United States | 0.13% | 0.21% | 0.01% | 0.26% | 0.72% | 1.10% |
| Canada | 0.04% | 0.31% | -0.01% | 0.35% | 0.65% | 1.12% |
United States Underwriting Variances by State
| Residential Valuation (RCT) | Commercial | Agricultural | ||||
| State | Month | Quarter | Month | Quarter | Month | Quarter |
| Alabama | -0.03% | 0.12% | -0.21% | 0.11% | 0.59% | 0.95% |
| Alaska | 0.11% | 0.59% | -0.06% | 0.62% | 0.23% | 0.77% |
| Arizona | 0.39% | 0.43% | 0.52% | 0.70% | 1.61% | 1.88% |
| Arkansas | 0.34% | 0.35% | 0.32% | 0.48% | 1.20% | 1.35% |
| California | 0.47% | 0.38% | 0.31% | 0.53% | 0.93% | 1.14% |
| Colorado | 0.03% | 0.02% | 0.04% | 0.34% | 0.74% | 1.30% |
| Connecticut | 0.07% | 0.06% | 0.01% | 0.04% | 0.70% | 0.75% |
| Delaware | -0.01% | 0.81% | -0.23% | 1.13% | 0.40% | 1.81% |
| District of Columbia | -0.19% | -0.32% | -0.28% | -0.12% | 0.60% | 0.80% |
| Florida | 0.25% | 0.10% | 0.06% | 0.31% | 1.04% | 1.59% |
| Georgia | 0.03% | 0.01% | -0.04% | 0.19% | 0.85% | 1.21% |
| Hawaii | -0.14% | 1.71% | -0.19% | 2.44% | 0.00% | 2.81% |
| Idaho | -0.02% | -0.07% | -0.25% | -0.37% | -0.10% | -0.10% |
| Illinois | 0.15% | 0.36% | 0.12% | 0.52% | 0.66% | 1.08% |
| Indiana | 0.08% | 0.08% | 0.14% | 0.36% | 0.99% | 1.35% |
| Iowa | -0.05% | 0.15% | -0.03% | 0.30% | 0.60% | 1.17% |
| Kansas | 0.26% | 0.20% | 0.13% | 0.18% | 0.64% | 0.64% |
| Kentucky | -0.14% | 0.09% | -0.19% | 0.13% | 0.59% | 1.27% |
| Louisiana | 0.30% | -0.07% | 0.09% | -0.01% | 0.83% | 0.90% |
| Maine | -0.16% | -0.02% | -0.29% | 0.08% | 0.43% | 0.73% |
| Maryland | 0.12% | 0.11% | -0.05% | 0.17% | 0.49% | 0.77% |
| Massachusetts | -0.13% | 0.36% | -0.18% | 0.78% | 0.47% | 1.54% |
| Michigan | 0.05% | 0.13% | -0.09% | 0.22% | 0.64% | 1.03% |
| Minnesota | -0.07% | 0.14% | -0.05% | 0.30% | 0.64% | 1.34% |
| Mississippi | -0.04% | 0.13% | -0.18% | 0.16% | 0.58% | 1.06% |
| Missouri | 0.01% | 0.14% | -0.03% | 0.19% | 0.55% | 0.94% |
| Montana | 0.19% | 0.13% | 0.00% | 0.15% | 0.50% | 0.75% |
| Nebraska | 0.10% | 0.32% | 0.03% | 0.47% | 0.90% | 1.62% |
| Nevada | 0.42% | 0.26% | 0.13% | 0.16% | 0.90% | 1.14% |
| New Hampshire | -0.15% | -0.04% | -0.11% | -0.02% | 0.35% | 0.40% |
| New Jersey | 0.31% | 0.29% | 0.02% | 0.26% | 0.69% | 1.00% |
| New Mexico | 0.17% | 0.16% | -0.10% | 0.14% | 0.86% | 1.26% |
| New York | 0.14% | 0.15% | 0.02% | 0.39% | 0.73% | 1.13% |
| North Carolina | 0.01% | -0.08% | -0.04% | 0.04% | 1.13% | 1.46% |
| North Dakota | 0.19% | 0.18% | -0.08% | 0.15% | 0.83% | 1.07% |
| Ohio | -0.08% | 0.28% | -0.05% | 0.25% | 0.57% | 1.13% |
| Oklahoma | 0.52% | 0.45% | 0.14% | 0.33% | 0.80% | 1.41% |
| Oregon | 0.17% | 0.05% | 0.11% | 0.19% | 0.72% | 0.75% |
| Pennsylvania | -0.03% | 0.23% | -0.23% | 0.00% | 0.48% | 0.92% |
| Rhode Island | -0.06% | -0.03% | -0.16% | -0.41% | 0.30% | 0.30% |
| South Carolina | 0.04% | 0.04% | -0.14% | 0.11% | 0.85% | 1.08% |
| South Dakota | 0.11% | 0.21% | 0.25% | 0.56% | 1.06% | 1.30% |
| Tennessee | -0.08% | 0.07% | -0.31% | 0.06% | 0.42% | 1.09% |
| Texas | 0.34% | 0.28% | 0.04% | 0.12% | 0.51% | 0.81% |
| Utah | 0.04% | -0.14% | -0.32% | -0.46% | 0.30% | 0.60% |
| Vermont | 0.02% | -0.04% | -0.21% | -0.05% | 0.50% | 0.50% |
| Virginia | -0.13% | -0.17% | -0.15% | -0.03% | 0.57% | 0.87% |
| Washington | 0.13% | -0.03% | 0.18% | 0.41% | 0.64% | 1.04% |
| West Virginia | 0.01% | 0.39% | 0.32% | 0.85% | 1.04% | 1.67% |
| Wisconsin | 0.02% | 0.18% | 0.10% | 0.44% | 0.82% | 1.29% |
| Wyoming | 0.28% | 0.06% | 0.17% | 0.07% | 0.90% | 0.90% |
December 2023 United States
Residential Underwriting Variances
December 2023 United States
Commercial Underwriting Variances
December 2023 United States
Agricultural Underwriting Variances
Canada Underwriting Variances by Province
| Residential Valuation (RCT) | Commercial | Agricultural | ||||
| Province | Month | Quarter | Month | Quarter | Month | Quarter |
| Alberta | -0.15% | -0.14% | -0.33% | -0.05% | 0.51% | 0.87% |
| British Columbia | -0.26% | 0.07% | -0.10% | 0.31% | 0.84% | 1.58% |
| Manitoba | -0.10% | 0.47% | -0.18% | 0.31% | 0.86% | 1.83% |
| New Brunswick | -0.08% | 0.83% | -0.20% | 0.81% | 0.60% | 1.27% |
| Newfoundland & Labrador | 1.08% | 1.07% | 0.99% | 0.98% | 1.35% | 1.40% |
| Northwest Territories | -0.02% | 0.46% | -0.15% | 0.68% | 0.80% | 1.81% |
| Nova Scotia | 0.53% | 0.69% | 0.52% | 0.68% | 1.04% | 1.34% |
| Nunavut | 0.00% | 0.42% | -0.15% | 0.68% | 0.80% | 1.81% |
| Ontario | -0.09% | 0.21% | -0.25% | -0.02% | 0.28% | 0.59% |
| Prince Edward Island | -0.22% | 0.58% | -0.15% | 0.68% | 0.80% | 1.81% |
| Quebec | 0.12% | 0.69% | 0.12% | 0.65% | 0.83% | 1.53% |
| Saskatchewan | 0.18% | 0.03% | 0.15% | 0.13% | 0.76% | 0.86% |
| Yukon | -0.02% | 0.51% | -0.15% | 0.68% | 0.80% | 1.81% |
December 2023 Canada
Residential Underwriting Variances
December 2023 Canada
Commercial Underwriting Variances
December 2023 Canada
Agricultural Underwriting Variances
What’s New
Note: CoreLogic recommends a full program installation whenever possible to ensure that companies are making decisions and forming plans based on the latest data and are benefiting from the most recent program enhancements.
Cost Data Changes: CoreLogic® Underwriting Residential Valuation (Formerly RCT Express®)
- The December 2023 cost data update reflects changes in reconstruction cost for labor and material. Standardized costs in this release reflect localized, updated costs representing the impact of emerging markets and economic trends on construction costs.
Non-Cost Data Changes: CoreLogic® Underwriting Residential Valuation (Formerly RCT Express®)
- There are no non-cost data changes for December 2023.
Cost Data Changes: CoreLogic® Underwriting Commercial Valuation (Formerly Commercial Express®)
- The December 2023 cost data update reflects reconstruction cost changes in both labor and material. Standardized costs in this release reflect localized, updated costs representing the impact of emerging markets and economic trends on construction costs.
Non-Cost Data Changes: CoreLogic® Underwriting Commercial Valuation (Formerly Commercial Express®)
- There are no non-cost data changes for December 2023.
About CoreLogic Data Research
CoreLogic develops this report using up-to-date materials and labor costs. CoreLogic’s team of analysts continuously researches hard costs such as labor, material, and equipment, including markups. CoreLogic updates its database every month accordingly.
Our research also covers soft costs such as taxes and fringe benefits for reconstruction work performed as part of the insurance industry. CoreLogic monitors demographics and econometric statistics, government indicators, and localization requirements, including market trends from thousands of unique economies throughout the United States and Canada.
Other factors in our findings process include the following:
- Wage rates for more than 85 union and non-union trades
- Over 100,000 construction data points
- Productivity rates and crew sizes
- Building code requirements and localized cost variables
Additionally, we validate cost data by analyzing field inspection records, contractor estimates, phone surveys, and both partial and complete loss claim information.
Please complete our online form to provide feedback or to request information on any items in our construction database. Also, do not hesitate to contact your sales executive or account manager for additional explanations or questions.
A more detailed methodology explanation can be found in our Construction Database Pricing Methodology white paper.
NOTE: The cost information in this bulletin is intended to give you a general sense of reconstruction cost trends in North America. You should not advocate using these factors when adjusting renewal values for specific locations or across your book of business. Please note that the building material and labor cost trends presented in this bulletin are broad averages derived from our research of construction trades and building materials.