March 2025 CT

Navigating Uncertainty in Construction Pricing for 2025

By Ross Catanzarite, The Accent Group, Inc.

“Geopolitical issues, changing economic policies, natural disasters...could cause sudden and substantial price increases...”

I f there’s one lesson that the community association industry learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s to expect the unexpected. That lesson will be particularly important to remember this year as we look at the construction pricing landscape. After the pandemic rocked global supply chains start ing in 2020, prices of more than 80 percent of construc tion materials rose sharply over the next three years — with an average jump of 19 percent, according to data from Gordian, a construction cost analytics firm. While costs have been relatively stable since then, signs point to the year ahead being quite unpredictable. Geopolitical issues, changing economic policies, natural disasters (including the recent California wildfires) and other unforeseen factors could cause sudden and substantial price increases in construction materials. In these uncertain times, it’s critical for community association property man agers and board members to stay informed about factors affecting the price of construction materials. Keeping in

mind lessons learned during the pandemic, it’s also essential to work proactively with your partners to develop strategies that can help mitigate potential increases. What Do We Know About Pricing in 2025? From our research and conversations with multiple sup pliers and manufacturers, it’s challenging to predict precise ly where prices are headed in 2025. Gordian projects 4-5 percent annual cost increases for many material categories this year. That’s in line with the normal price increases we tend to see annually for roofing, siding and lumber, absent any unexpected factors. Let’s look at what we’ve learned so far about these three key materials for 2025. ROOFING Price increases and shortages in asphalt roofing over the past few years have mainly been driven by demand out weighing supply. Roofing prices are also affected by other factors, including rising trucking rates, warehouse expenses and labor costs.

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