Why Are Canadian Construction Costs So High? (2018)

Post by cylinder » Mon, Nov 25, 2019, 6:34 AM UTC

acd wrote: post #28

Here is a theory. Builders chargé maximum what they can. Home prizes has increased rapidly in Canada, some say possibly to a bubble level. Banks create new debt out of nothing through fractional reserve banking. Central banks support negative interest rates. A conseque of low interest rates is that many can afford to borrow to high real estate prices. The high real estate prices drive up building costs, since builder…

Post by n4r9 » Mon, Nov 25, 2019, 7:41 AM UTC

cperciva wrote: post #41

moltar wrote: post #17

As I can see from living in Canada and travelling the world there can be several reasons: - corruption, especially in QC - over-the-top safety requirements, regardless of project size. E.g. in Toronto every road work sight has a police officer present who’s just standing there bored out of their mind. In Montreal it’d be two persons on each side holding a flag - a job in Europe replaced by a temporary semaphore. - la…

- corruption, especially in QC If you think corruption is bad in Quebec, look at BC. One of the first things our current government did was to pass a law requiring that all government-funded construction must be performed by workers belonging to unions which donated to the governing party's last election campaign. A short time later, they changed the procurement rules from "lowest cost bid" to "best bid", with the ru…

Post by taylortbb » Mon, Nov 25, 2019, 7:49 AM UTC

adventured wrote: post #22

georgeburdell wrote: post #18

Still lower than the U.S. I went to a couple of cities in Canada in the past year and there's construction everywhere, from skyscrapers to roads. My corner of the Bay Area has a couple of 5-story apartment complexes going up.

> Still lower than the U.S. I went to a couple of cities in Canada in the past year and there's construction everywhere, from skyscrapers to roads NYC has had skyscrapers going up left and right the past decade: Central Park, 111 West 57, One Vanderbilt, 432 Park, 30 Hudson, 3 World Trade, 53W53, 35 Hudson, One57, 1 Manhattan, 220 Central Park South, 15 Hudson, 125 Greewich, 425 Park, etc. All of those are taller or…

Post by xyzzy_plugh » Mon, Nov 25, 2019, 9:30 AM UTC

cylinder wrote: post #42

acd wrote: post #28

Here is a theory. Builders chargé maximum what they can. Home prizes has increased rapidly in Canada, some say possibly to a bubble level. Banks create new debt out of nothing through fractional reserve banking. Central banks support negative interest rates. A conseque of low interest rates is that many can afford to borrow to high real estate prices. The high real estate prices drive up building costs, since builder…

Builders are actually in an extremely competitive marketplace, with a race to the bottom culture on costs. They also bear a huge amount of risk, usually committing to fixed fee contracts. The profits go to those who hold the money / land - the developer.

Post by chopin » Mon, Nov 25, 2019, 10:09 AM UTC

cperciva wrote: post #41

moltar wrote: post #17

As I can see from living in Canada and travelling the world there can be several reasons: - corruption, especially in QC - over-the-top safety requirements, regardless of project size. E.g. in Toronto every road work sight has a police officer present who’s just standing there bored out of their mind. In Montreal it’d be two persons on each side holding a flag - a job in Europe replaced by a temporary semaphore. - la…

- corruption, especially in QC If you think corruption is bad in Quebec, look at BC. One of the first things our current government did was to pass a law requiring that all government-funded construction must be performed by workers belonging to unions which donated to the governing party's last election campaign. A short time later, they changed the procurement rules from "lowest cost bid" to "best bid", with the ru…