2024 Canadian Cost Guide
Your guide to understanding Canadian real estate development and infrastructure construction costs.
2023 marked yet another turbulent year for the Canadian construction and development industry
There is reason for cautious optimism as we head into 2024, as heightened interest rates help to curb inflation, moderating equipment and materials costs are counteracting cost increases in other areas. On balance, it appears that the scales are tilting towards more moderation of construction costs over the next 6 to 12 months; however, this equilibrium may be short-lived.
During this phase of relative stability in construction costs, it is crucial for building development and construction companies to stay agile and well-informed.
What’s inside
The price per square foot breakdown for the:
Private sector
Public sector
Infrastructure
2024 Canadian Cost Guide data is based on our proprietary project cost database, which includes data from over 900 engagements in 2023 alone, totaling:
$440B
total project value
5,773
total projects
1,405M+
square feet
How to use the Cost Guide
Every year this guide provides a comprehensive snapshot of construction costs in local markets across Canada, broken down by building type. This data has proven very useful; however, if improperly applied, it can result in a budget and forecast that is off by hundreds of thousands, and in some cases, millions of dollars. To avoid any inaccuracies, there are two recommended ways to use this guide:
Preparing a high-level estimate during the pre-planning stage, when you are working exclusively off building floor areas.
As a benchmark in the later stages of pre-construction planning, to compare your detailed project estimate with the industry.
Preparing a high-level estimate
If you are in the pre-planning stage and know your floor areas, you can use the guide to prepare a high-level estimate. Using the Private Sector Price per Square Foot data for 2024, it’s relatively simple, as illustrated in this example.
That said, even for a high-level estimate, you should also be accounting for construction cost escalation between the date of this guide (January 2024) and your project’s construction start date. When establishing your cost escalation rate, be sure to consider factors that may influence the rate of change, such as your region and your asset type.
As a benchmark
If you are further into the planning phase of your project and able to obtain specific measurements of building elements, beyond just floor areas, you can prepare a more detailed estimate and use the guide to benchmark that estimate.
This point is reached earlier in the project than you may realize, and even with preliminary concept drawings you are able to measure elemental quantities and estimate your construction costs with a lower margin of error than is possible with a simple cost per square foot estimate. The conceptual drawings provide you with critical information about the building characteristics which can have a significant impact on the cost, including the building’s shape, height, footprint, and characteristics of the below-grade structure.
For example, you can leverage this information to estimate façade costs, and base them on a façade quantity measured specifically for your building’s shape and height.
Resources
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