Next week, I’ll be speaking on a panel at the 2025 BUILT National Multi-housing Summit. This is a great conference and one I’m always excited to attend. This year, I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to talk with industry peers about a topic I know is top of mind for all of us, all the time, no matter if you’re on the client, contractor, or design side — pricing. The state of the market and everything that entails, from interest rates to materials costs, directly impacts the way we draft contracts, bid projects, and set budgets. Speaking on a panel gives me the opportunity to not only share what we’re experiencing on our projects but also to learn from others and share lessons learned and best practices. Here are the top 3 main topics related to construction costs that I expect will get the most time during the panel discussion:
- Tariffs – it’s a buzzword right now, but for good reason. The proposed tariffs are looming over projects that are bidding now, bringing a lot of unknowns and uncertainty as clients and GCs sign contracts and draft budgets. The fate of several proposed tariffs is still being decided in the courts, which is hard to factor into budgets for projects set to break ground in a year. I think a good discussion we can have in a room filled with clients, general contractors, trade partners, and design partners is how can we contract around the unknowns? Who needs to carry the risk when you don’t know if a tariff will send a price skyrocketing eight months from now? Is there a win-win situation where no one needs to pay more than they absolutely have to? I believe so, and I’m excited to talk it out with the group.
- Pricing Pulse – Isn’t that what we all want to know, year after year? Are prices staying flat, decreasing, or increasing? The nature of our industry is up and down, and we’ve all experienced the top of the peak. Think post-pandemic, when steel and lumber costs were soaring and there was no end in sight. I think the panel will agree that pricing has stabilized recently, maybe even trending downwards in some regions. The above-mentioned tariffs could impact that, but for now, I anticipate the general consensus to be that prices are in a good place compared to recent history. On our own projects, we’ve been able to hold budgets or even deliver under budget.
- Project Forecast – What does the pipeline look like in the coming years? Currently, we’re seeing GCs and trade partners active and busy on current jobs, with fewer starts on the horizon. That’s expected while interest rates have remained high, and clients are taking more time to plan their next project and secure financing. One thing I know about our industry is that it is cyclical. Right now, there are fewer jobs, and trade partners are having to be more competitive with their bids. The Federal Reserve just lowered the interest rates for the first time in 9 months, and suggested there could be more reductions in the future. The money is out there for developments, and better interest rates are a good sign that we will see more projects being greenlit in the future.
I’m looking forward to talking about these points and more at next week’s conference. If you’re attending or have something to add to the discussion, leave a comment and let me know. I love this industry and any opportunity to talk about how we can all work together to keep it active, thriving, and successful — through any market condition or cost challenge.
