Turner & Townsend’s 2023 international construction market survey shows New York City is the most expensive place in which to build in the world. The city was No. 4 in 2022.
San Francisco fell to No. 2 this year from No. 1 in 2022. Four other U.S. cities—Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Seattle—made the list.
Following is the full list of the top 10 most expensive cities in which to build, according to the survey.
- New York City
- San Francisco
- Geneva
- Zurich
- Tokyo
- Osaka, Japan
- Boston
- Los Angeles
- Chicago
- Seattle
The report found New York City had an average build cost of $5,451 per square meter, followed by San Francisco at $5,200 per square meter; these were the only two markets where the average cost to build exceeded $5,000 per square meter.
The report said 26% of markets surveyed were classified as “hot” or “overheating”—where conditions are deemed at risk of acting as a brake on development—compared with 38.6% in 2022.
