Still higher building costs

Building construction costs in the United States are expected to show a continued increase during the second quarter of 1980, according to a forecast by the Turner Construction Company. Costs for the 1980 second quarter will be 2.7 percent above the first quarter of the year and 11.6 percent above the comparable quarter of 1979.

This marks the seventh consecutive quarter in which building construction costs have climbed at a double-digit annualized rate, a pattern set in the 1978 fourth quarter.

"The continued escalation of building costs reflects the sustained high level of construction activity, especially in the commercial sector, as well as the continued upward spiral in the costs of energy, raw materials, and energy-intensive building products," explained Walter B. Shaw, chairman of the general-contracting and construction management company.

A significant rise in the level of construction wage rates, plus restricted credit and record-high interest rates, is another reason of increased cost pressure since the beginning of the year, he noted.