Reed Construction Data have reported a rise in building construction costs in NSW and Vistoria as CPI figures ease.
Victoria:
The March 2009 quarter Victorian Commercial Index Price showed that the rate of growth in construction costs has increased by 1.3% over the prior December 2008 quarter.
The Victorian Housing Index rose by three points this period, equating to a 1.7% increase over the previous December 2008 quarter.
Cordell’s Residential Index Price rose by 1.4 index points, a growth of 1.2% on the previous December 2008 quarter. This degree of cost inflation is in line with the 2008 quarterly average and represents a contribution to the overall increase in medium density construction costs for the year ending March 2009 of 4.7%.
Across all three of these categories, material costs represented the most significant contributor to rising costs.
New South Wales:
The March 2009 quarter Commercial Index Price showed a persisting trend of growth in construction costs for this state since Mar-05. This latest cost movement displayed a rise of 1.5 index points; a growth of 1.3% on the December 2008 quarter.
This March 2009 quarter’s Housing Index Price showed a further increase in the cost of constructing detached dwellings; 1.8 index points. This growth represents a 0.9% increase in housing construction costs over the December 2008 quarter, a lower than average rate when measured against the four quarter average of 1.1% for the year ending March 2009.
The March 2009 quarter Residential Index Price saw a further rise in medium density costs by 1.6 index points, indicating that medium density residential costs grew by 1.4% on the previous December 2008 quarter.
While this rise is lower than the average quarterly rate for the year ending March 2009 of 1.5%, it did contribute to the increase of 4.3% for the year ending March 2009.
According to Reed Construction Data’s Senior Estimator, material price rises also contributed most significantly to the rise in construction costs across all categories measured for this state.