Altus Cost Guide projects cost moderation

TORONTO — Altus Group has released its latest cost guide for construction projects, with its analysts reporting that costs appear to have moderated after recent steep inflation.

The commercial real estate firm released its 2024 Canadian Cost Guide on Jan. 24. The guide is an annual assessment of real estate development and infrastructure construction hard costs across all asset classes in major Canadian cities.

The guide draws on an in-house database representing 5,700 development projects and 1.4 billion square feet collectively valued at over $440 billion. It includes cost breakdowns by asset class, city, and on a dollar per square foot or unit metric.

“Despite elevated interest rates and inflationary pressures, Altus Group’s 2024 Cost Guide indicates that escalation in construction costs has stabilized,” said Colin Doran of Altus Group in a release. “It appears that the scales are tilting toward moderation of construction costs over the next six to 12 months.

“However, this equilibrium may be relatively short-lived as rapid population growth and a large backlog of projects will inevitably spur more development activity in key Canadian cities.”