Turner & Townsend's 2017 International Construction Market Survey (ICMS) names New York City as the metro with the world's highest costs of construction, at nearly $354 per square foot last year.
The New York City construction industry spent $43 billion in 2016, an outlay that was partly attributable to high wages of up to $100 per hour and that represents a 3.5% increase from 2015. Turner & Townsend predicted that the city will record another increase of 3.5% in 2017.
Construction costs around the world in 2016 rose at a rate of 3.7%, and New York City bumped last year's most expensive market, Zurich, from the top spot on Turner & Townsend's list. In this year's rankings, New York was followed by San Francisco, Zurich, Hong Kong and London.