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Building costs: offices and industrial (£/m2)
Heated offices   Air-conditioned offices   Factories, warehouses, industrial High technology/ research
£/m2     £/m2     £/m2     £/m2    
country low high floors (typical) low high floors (typical) low high floors (typical) low high floors (typical)
Cyprus 326 629 – 375 701 – 218 459 – 484 967 –
Czech Republic 397 497 6 516 715 6 218 417 1 397 546 1
Denmark 1 038 1 144 2 1 311 1 448 2 926 1 024 1 1 316 1 433 2
Finland 707 884 5 766 943 5 436 531 1 648 766 2
France 641 882 4 748 1 069 4 214 267 1 534 641 2
Germany – Frankfurt 717 896 3 860 1 255 3 359 627 2 1 004 1 362 3
Germany – Berlin 825 1 255 5 1 076 1 542 5 394 502 2 1 255 1 613 4
Hungary 302 439 6 412 741 6 165 274 1 412 549 2
Ireland 668 980 5 890 1 247 5 312 668 1 623 980 2
Italy 543 688 8 688 1 086 8 290 579 1 724 1 448 2
Netherlands 630 767 6 757 1 018 8 312 483 1 900 1 209 3
Poland 371 603 – 502 783 – 232 383 – 404 552 –
Romania 348 463 5 579 695 6 290 405 2 n/a n/a –
Russia 601 901 5 841 1 141 6 481 721 2 n/a n/a –
Sweden 625 692 4 662 811 4 387 536 1 729 1 101 4
Switzerland 571 922 5 878 1 317 4 351 592 2 878 1 448 2
UK 1 025 1 425 4 1 160 1 640 8 230 565 1 680 900 2
Australia n/a n/a – 581 719 17 188 243 1 486 583 2
China 419 656 – 489 809 – 204 350 – 583 729 –
Hong Kong n/a n/a – 912 1 193 45 398 593 15 1 193 1 591 3
India 285 427 4 285 427 4 114 171 1 498 570 2
Indonesia n/a n/a – 385 545 10 160 225 1 321 385 –
Japan n/a n/a – 1 330 2 169 15 653 944 1 944 1 325 3
Kenya n/a n/a – 355 456 12 203 304 1 456 558 2
New Zealand 518 583 20 583 680 25 194 292 – 243 324 –
Oman n/a n/a – 345 604 – 155 431 – 552 949 –
Philippines n/a n/a – 336 443 40 183 275 2 427 549 5
Saudi Arabia n/a n/a – 483 724 7 338 563 1 563 805 2
Singapore n/a n/a – 649 797 25 315 408 2 352 482 2
South Africa n/a n/a – 204 257 4 150 193 1 215 322 3
Thailand n/a n/a – 385 426 30 120 150 2 n/a n/a –
United Arab Emirates n/a n/a – 329 575 20 148 411 – 526 904 –
USA* 596 893 11 647 932 15 274 406 1 731 1 345 3
* figures for the USA are based on an average of seven cities
 
Building costs: residential and hotels
High-rise
apartments		     Shopping
centre		     High quality
capital city hotel		     Provincial/
suburban hotel		    
£/m2     £/m2     £/m2     £/m2    
Country low high floors (typical) low high floors (typical) low high floors (typical) low high floors (typical)
Cyprus 387 556 – 339 605 – 605 967 – 387 544 –
Czech Republic 338 477 10 397 536 1 636 953 8 437 556 3
Denmark 955 1 063 5 1 121 1 219 1 1 414 1 511 5 1 053 1 111 3
Finland 766 1 120 4 531 648 2 1 061 1 179 5 825 943 3
France 481 802 6 428 695 2 909 1 283 6 481 695 2
Germany – Frankfurt 592 760 3 484 1 226 3 n/a n/a n/a 896 1 255 3
Germany – Berlin 717 1 076 5 825 1 255 3 1 255 1 613 10 896 1 255 6
Hungary 220 357 6 357 604 3 686 1 043 6 329 549 4
Ireland 490 712 4 – 757 2 890 1 425 5 712 1 069 4
Italy 543 797 4 905 1 086 1 724 1 267 4 579 1 014 2
Netherlands 385 627 10 515 700 1 1 225 1 419 8 1 085 1 225 4
Poland 332 582 – 534 712 – 881 1 128 –* 585 881 –*
Romania 290 521 2 n/a n/a – 579 869 5 405 637 5
Russia n/a n/a n/a 571 901 3 961 1 201 5 541 781 4
Sweden 476 551 4 692 841 2 930 1 116 6 670 819 4
Switzerland 571 834 4 351 527 – 1 317 1 755 5 702 1 097 5
UK 840 1 145 8 795 1 425 2 1 250 1 480 10 730 1 045 4
Australia 494 663 15 402 544 2 886 1 185 15* 705 995 2*
China 277 350 – 569 693 – 846 1 116 – 729 984 –
Hong Kong 873 1 193 45 1 029 1 271 4 1 349 1 824 25* n/a n/a n/a
India 142 285 15 100 214 4 570 712 18* 356 498 4*
Indonesia 401 465 – 513 650 – 866 1 115 – 626 786 –
Japan 1 370 1 521 20 552 1 370 5 1 928 2 836 20* 1 370 1 747 10*
Kenya 243 304 6 203 253 2 456 760 9* 304 405 3*
New Zealand 454 599 – 275 454 – 745 842 – 583 680 –
Oman 405 690 – 345 862 – 604 1 294 – 517 94 –
Philippines 321 427 35 214 305 4 519 641 35* 366 427 8*
Saudi Arabia 563 756 7 483 805 2 885 1 207 7* 724 1 046 4*
Singapore 482 593 25 445 556 2 1 001 1 112 10* 742 890 7*
South Africa 193 268 12 177 225 2 483 536 10* 322 485 3*
Thailand 297 360 20 209 242 4 502 585 20* 334 418 3*
United Arab Emirates 386 657 15 329 822 3 575 1 233 15 493 904 5
USA** 453 750 17 503 687 2 983 1285 12 733 897 5
* costs include furniture fittings and equipment ** figures for the USA are based on an average of seven cities
Inflation – rates and forecasts*
Price inflation (%)             Building tender price inflation (%)        
Country 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Cyprus – – – – – – – – 11.6 6.7 7.6 6.5 6.7 8.0 7.9 4.9
Czech Republic 22.2 9.1 9.0 10.0 9.2 8.8 – – 17.9 12.0 9.3 12.0 10.7 9.5 – –
Denmark 1.2 2.0 2.1 2.1 2.3 3.1 3.5 6.0 2.9 2.8 5.4 2.6 4.2 4.8 3.8 4.4
Finland 0.0 0.8 3.7 4.3 3.2 13.3 4.0 3.1 0.3 1.5 1.3 1.2 0.5 2.8 1.1 1.1
France 2.1 1.6 2.1 2.0 1.1 1.2 1.0 – 3.6 3.5 1.9 2.5 2.0 1.0 – –
Germany 4.0 5.0 2.2 1.5 2.4 1.0 1.2 – 8.2 5.6 2.4 2.1 –2.5 –0.1 – –
Hungary 15.0 27.0 29.8 23.0 18.0 14.5 11.0 – 24.3 30.2 27.3 19.0 14.0 25.0 20.0 –
Ireland 2.9 2.5 1.6 2.8 1.3 7.2 – – 3.3 8.0 2.0 2.8 1.3 7.2 – –
Italy 3.5 5.9 6.2 3.9 1.4 1.7 1.7 – –0.9 1.8 2.0 2.2 0.9 3.3 3.2 3.1
Netherlands 2.6 2.6 1.7 2.5 2.4 2.4 2.7 – 2.8 0.9 1.8 1.8 2.6 1.7 3.4 –
Poland 35.4 32.2 28.0 19.5 15.3 10.6 8.5 – 25.0 19.6 21.9 21.1 14.1 7.0 – –
Russia – – – – – 52.0 – – – – – – – – – –
Sweden 4.6 2.2 2.5 0.5 0.5 2.9 2.5 – 3.0 1.6 6.4 1.2 0.9 -0.2 0.9 –
Switzerland – – – 0.8 0.8 2.1 1.6 – – – – – – – – –
UK 1.6 2.4 3.3 2.5 3.1 3.3 2.4 2.4 1.7 6.0 4.9 3.7 5.5 5.7 5.4 5.0
Australia 2.4 2.1 4.7 1.2 0.8 1.5 2.9 – 2.8 1.8 1.9 2.8 2.4 3.2 3.0 4.8
China – – – – 1.8 –1.5 – – – – –1.5 –2.5 –2.5 1.0 0.1 1.7
Hong Kong 10.8 9.8 8.2 7.0 5.3 1.1 2.8 4.3 5.3 13.0 12.4 10.2 19.3 –6.0 –0.1 –
India – – – – – 15.0 – – 7.0 8.2 8.3 8.4 9.7 8.8 8.1 10.0
Indonesia 4.9 5.0 3.9 3.4 6.9 82.4 – – 4.7 1.4 2.1 2.3 10.0 100.0 – –
Japan – – – – – –2.6 -0.8 – –5.4 –5.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 –6.9 3.7 –
Kenya – – – – – – – – 63.0 15.5 2.9 8.1 9.9 8.2 12.6 10.3
New Zealand 2.2 0.9 2.9 2.6 0.0 2.1 2.4 2.4 2.6 2.1 3.2 0.4 0.0 0.1 2.1 2.0
Philippines – – – – 5.3 10.2 – – – – – – – – – –
Saudi Arabia 0.8 0.6 5.0 2.0 2.0 0.2 1.2 2.0 – – – – – – – –
Singapore – – – – 2.3 –1.4 – – –2.0 0.0 5.2 8.9 2.7 8.0 – –
South Africa – – – 6.0 7.5 7.0 7.0 7.0 8.3 8.4 6.3 6.6 5.6 8.2 7.1 5.0
Thailand – – – – 7.0 5.8 – – 5.4 8.2 5.7 –0.9 8.1 –1.7 5.9 8.0
United Arab Emirates – – – – – 0.0 – – –3.5 0.0 4.5 0.0 4.3 8.3 0.0 –
USA** 4.2 2.7 2.3 2.1 2.9 4.5 2.4 2.4 2.5 2.8 3.1 2.3 3.6 6.5 2.9 –
* figures for 1998 to 2000 are forecasts ** figures for the USA are based on an average of seven cities
 
Labour rates (£/hour)
Basic rate     All-in rate    
Country unskilled semi-skilled skilled unskilled semi-skilled skilled
Cyprus 3.5 3.8 4.1 5.4 6.2 7.1
Czech Republic 0.8 1.5 2.5 2.5 3.8 5.0
Denmark 11.4 12.4 12.8 22.0 24.0 24.6
Finland 5.3 7.1 8.3 9.2 12.6 14.3
France 4.7 5.9 7.0 10.1 12.8 14.2
Germany 6.5 7.9 12.6 21.5 23.3 26.9
Hungary 1.0 1.2 1.8 2.7 3.6 5.1
Ireland 3.8 5.3 6.2 15.0 15.7 16.3
Italy 7.6 8.7 9.4 15.2 17.4 18.8
Netherlands 6.4 7.3 8.0 14.3 15.6 17.8
Poland 1.1 1.3 1.6 2.1 2.6 3.1
Romania 0.7 1.5 1.8 1.0 2.0 2.5
Russia 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.0 3.9 5.4
Sweden 0.0 0.0 8.6 0.0 0.0 16.0
Switzerland 10.5 11.4 11.9 17.6 19.2 19.9
UK 4.2 4.8 5.5 5.7 6.4 7.4
Australia 5.9 6.3 6.7 9.1 9.7 10.3
China 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.2 0.3 0.5
Hong Kong 5.7 0.0 8.6 6.6 0.0 9.9
India 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.2
Indonesia 0.5 0.6 0.8 0.6 0.8 1.0
Japan 9.9 12.7 13.8 14.8 19.1 20.7
Kenya 0.2 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.8 1.2
New Zealand 3.0 4.4 5.7 3.6 5.3 7.4
Oman 1.0 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.7 1.9
Philippines 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.4 0.5 0.7
Saudi Arabia 0.6 0.8 1.6 1.3 1.6 2.4
Singapore 1.3 1.8 2.2 2.2 2.3 2.4
South Africa 0.8 1.3 2.7 1.0 1.6 3.5
Thailand 3.18 3.76 6.52 3.68 4.26 7.11
United Arab Emirates 0.69 0.72 0.76 0.99 1.04 1.08
USA* 19.09 21.35 25.14 29.00 32.06 37.06
* figures for the USA are based on an average of seven cities
Building materials supply prices
Steel rebar
high yield		 Structural
steel		 Ordinary
cement		 Concrete
(20 N/mm2)		 Aggregate
all grades		 Sand
(coarse)		 Plaster Carcassing
timber		 Common
bricks		 Concrete
blocks
(100 mm)		 Glass
6 mm
Country £/tonne £/tonne £/tonne £/tonne £/tonne £/tonne £/tonne £/m3 £/1000 £/m2 £/m2
Cyprus 206 750 42 10 5 6 54 230 157 8 7
Czech Republic 298 497 45 24 7 6 32 99 131 6 13
Denmark 684 599 85 33 7 7 72 – – 16 –
Finland 330 707 – 19 6 6 – 141 – 26 –
France 428 641 74 29 10 9 89 158 187 4 16
Germany – Frankfurt 305 448 – 23 13 8 – – – 20 27
Germany – Berlin 394 574 – 27 13 8 – – – 18 25
Hungary 214 329 45 14 8 7 82 124 118 7 9
Ireland 240 890 89 36 18 16 89 178 – 5 20
Italy 246 670 60 21 9 12 72 114 62 6 20
Netherlands 557 903 67 29 14 17 102 226 121 11 17
Poland 224 302 32 25 – – 45 161 107 6 12
Romania 203 174 23 – 4 4 – – 70 20 –
Russia 216 571 50 26 8 6 – 78 – – 30
Sweden 484 707 52 26 7 6 112 – – 7 17
Switzerland 549 527 29 34 13 19 132 – – 30 –
UK 347 629 74 23 11 11 124 194 168 7 22
Australia 408 408 83 17 11 12 97 214 136 7 –
China 179 211 28 13 4 4 – 91 21 2 3
Hong Kong 192 335 55 19 3 2 47 102 67 6 4
India 228 256 34 – 4 3 – – 23 3 4
Indonesia 237 682 25 18 4 5 – – – 2 –
Japan 151 376 44 26 14 15 – 266 – 8 10
Kenya 405 862 88 41 14 8 – 72 129 5 8
New Zealand 470 437 76 24 8 13 – – 152 6 16
Oman 267 – 39 – 4 2 34 147 – 4 –
Philippines 229 382 35 15 10 7 – – – – –
Saudi Arabia 233 483 42 11 4 2 56 121 – 3 13
Singapore 174 260 37 24 5 5 – 297 65 3 9
South Africa 257 429 48 12 8 6 – 123 33 6 14
Thailand 184 502 30 23 – – 30 – 9 4 4
United Arab Emirates 205 575 41 11 4 7 164 411 – 3 13
USA 501 922 69 37 8 6 80 132 280 10 23