As developers and contractors prepare for a busy market through 2023, the future cost of buildings can no longer be predicted by escalation alone. Teams must account for a number of cost factors, including current market trends, the primary hard cost drivers and sustainability trends, as well as escalation predictions.

We continue to point to three major trends as both contributors and indicators of this projected growth:

Industry Constraints
Market exhaustion and limited labor resources have been the theme of the Pacific Northwest in recent years, and this trend will continue through 2023. With a scarcity of competent and available resources.

The Continued Rise of Tech and Eastside Growth
The Pacific Northwest will continue to attract tech firms, and much of the new growth will be in the Eastside. Bellevue’s recent rezoning and transit developments make it an attractive location for new and incumbent players. We are targeting significant growth for the Eastside in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

The Evolution of the Built Environment
As employers are competing for talent, new, unique workspaces have become a differentiator for attracting and retaining employees. The expectations that developers and tenants have for building performance and aesthetics may vary immensely and can have significant influence on cost. This trend will continue to be the hardest to predict with the highest potential to affect overall costs.

We’d welcome the chance to continue this discussion with you — contact us!