@AB Normal and @Joseph Corlett LLC, thx so much for your quick response. Appreciate it! Silly question- but which prices went up 40-50%? Sheetrock? Insulation? Or do you mean labor prices? Sheetrock appears to be only $20 ish a sheet. He’s not even including the paint like he did in the first estimate. I don’t understand where all the extra money is going. Thx!

Cost of everything has gone up, we had a quote pre Covid and then finally got started in Covid. Example: cost of glue for floors went up 50% to purchase. Everything cost more, and in turn labor costs more for them to make money. Wood especially has gone up. It’s awful out there

Thanks @Julie Schmooley (fun name, btw :) I know wood, etc went up during Covid , but thought I heard it’s wood especially has come down. I know food has really gone up. It’s crazy!

A tradesman increases his rates to keep up with his expenses. He isn’t like someone working for an skinflint employer barely getting a 3% COL raise. There are no young guys entering the trades. Old guys are going to make whatever they want to make. Because they are scarce, and in high demand.

"Silly question- but which prices went up 40-50%? Sheetrock? Insulation? Or do you mean labor prices? Sheetrock appears to be only $20 ish a sheet."

Here's a link to information about building material price increases:

https://eyeonhousing.org/2023/08/price-growth-of-key-building-materials-continues-to-moderate/#:~:text=Over%20the%20first%20seven%20months,compared%20to%2020.0%25%20in%202022. Keep in mind that these are material price increases only. Labor cost increases can vary from market to market particularly where demand for remodeling or new construction services exceeds local supply.

You might need to value engineer your project in order to get the budget down. I’d suggest considering carpet for the basement - tile is cold and hard on the body and way more expensive than a good quality carpet. Or if you really hate carpet then a wood laminate is warmer underfoot for a basement and way less than tile. The only way I’d do tile in a basement in a cold part of the country is if under floor radiant heat was installed. Good luck with your project!

As noted above, the market sets the rate.

Where I'm building, my projections are in-line from Pre-pandemic.

And small jobs should always include a significant markup for unexpected problems the contractor may encounter--the prime reason I let my renovator licence lapse!

Thank you all for your responses!! @Charles Ross Homes the link you sent is hugely helpful! Thanks!! @thinkdesignlive Thanks for the suggestion, but I’m incredibly sensitive to mold (which I found out the hard way), so tile is the only way to go in the basement. Tile is the safest against water. We will put throw rugs down.

A 53% jump over a period when construction material costs have come down, seems a bit sketch to me. This is not a pre-pandemic estimate, your estimate was given near the height of the supply shock, so it seems a bit extreme for labor to account for that big an increase.

I suspect that it was underbid originally.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I’m incredibly sensitive to mold (which I found out the hard way), so tile is the only way to go in the basement.

Look at luxury vinyl plank. That too should work fine.

As to the question of pre pandemic pricing versus now? I moved into my new built house in 2018. I could now sell it for double of what I paid for my custom home. New homes being built now are double the price of what they were in 2018-19.

If you're unsure, you next option is to get two quotes from other contractors. If it's too far along see if some materials can be changed. Tile is a labor intensive choice, for example.

@ cpartist said, "As to the question of pre pandemic pricing versus now?"

The estimate is not pre-pandemic. It was 2021...

Was the estimate in writing? Was there a date during which the estimate pricing was to bo held?

Find a different guy. He is probably busy now and can be picky and pricy. I

North Jersey prices are always higher compared to most of the other towns in NJ, but this price is way too high for a basic basement of that size.

That said, it looks like you are in a sheetrock stage at what point of construction did that price change?

If you signed the contract at that price before work started there is not much you can do now.

The estimate is not pre-pandemic. It was 2021...

Yes and prices where I live were fairly stable until 2021 when they started to rise dramatically.

Yes and prices where I live were fairly stable until 2021 when they started to rise dramatically.

That is not what you said. It also seems unlikely that commodity prices in your area were 4.3 times lower, because arbitrage doesn't happen that way. If Florida prices were that low, then someone would have seen the profit in buying construction materials in Florida and shipping them other places. I would have bought shipping containers full of sheet goods if there was even a 20% profit in it.

2021 is when a lot of people decided to move to FL and things took off like crazy ... homes sales, remodels, and new builds.

That is not what you said.

I never stated WHEN the prices jumped; just that I moved into my house in 2018 and now it's double what it cost me to build.

2021 is when a lot of people decided to move to FL and things took off like crazy ... homes sales, remodels, and new builds.

This was the number one reason and number two was prices for materials going up. Northern NJ is also an area where pricing is ridiculous

I would get other estimates too, even if you are pretty sure you will use that contractor. It does seem like a large increase from 2021.

cpartist You literally began your response with… “As to the question of pre pandemic pricing versus now?”

I just pointed out that the above statement didn’t apply to this post. Which it didn’t because the OP didn’t have a pre-pandemic quote. Nor does your new statement make it any better.

“I never stated WHEN the prices jumped”

Let me respond to that by saying that houses are more expensive now than in 1908. I also didn’t say ”WHEN the prices jumped,” but I also can’t tell you how that is supposed to help the OP in any way.

What we do know is that a reputable member of the community who is a contractor in New Jersey has noted “this price is way too high for a basic basement of that size.” So maybe we should just allow that he is correct rather than explaining to him why this price is acceptable.

It's possible that he just wanted the job more then than he does now. There's nothing sleazy or dishonest about that. It would just be that a change in his circumstances changed the value of the job.

Back in 2008, nobody felt sorry for contractors who had to dip into their 401K's to keep their homes out of foreclosure. A lot of younger people in the trades saw the first-to-be-laid-off-in-recession nature of the building trades, quit, and went to chiropractor school. This has created the lack of supply resulting in the higher prices. I doubt material costs have much to do with it.

It takes 15 years or so to replenish a 401K. I hope contractors recover and then some. There will be no feeling sorry, just like before, now that the proverbial shoe is on the other foot.

First, the OP didn’t ask if there are reasons that prices might go up, the OP asked if their specific price increase seemed reasonable. When I mention that there is a Pro bias on this site, this is what I am talking about. So many people just pretended that this price increase must be reasonable without asking any questions. Just because prices have increased that doesn't mean all increases are reasonable.

So discussions on pension plans and demand doesn’t in any way answer the OP’s question. Please let me point out that the one contractor who actually works in that area did answer the actual question and didn’t agree with the prevailing sentiment here.

Really, no one bothered to ask about the scope of work, the contract, was it an itemized bid, etc.

bry911:

A little thread drift is a good thing.

"Really, no one bothered to ask about the scope of work, the contract, was it an itemized bid, etc."

bry911:

What do you propose to do with this information please? How can it change the take-it-or-leave-it nature of the higher proposal?

@Mara333. As mentioned above you are half way thru. What is that about? Do you have a signed contract? Did you agree to a price and now have remorse?

Did the same contractor do the work already done or someone else, and has it already been paid for? is the bid for completing the basement from what we see how? You really need to answer the questions to get any reasonable answers here.

If the $49K is to go from what I see how to being finished I'll say hell no, it's not reasonable and neither was $32. Why was the work delayed so long to begin with? NJ emergency health restrictions were lifted Mar of 2022 so nothing makes sense here.

Compound increases of 13.9% in 2021 + 15.5% in 2022 gives you the 2 year 31.5% increases in average residential construction costs, but that is not evenly spread by product or labor type or region.

Do people in construction have a reasonable cost of living nearby?

If the OP is dis-satisfied, they can always shop around.

It's what I do with every one of the some 30 trades & suppliers I deal with on a single build. (And far from vigorously enough, according to mrs. worthy, who can pull the feathers on the bald eagle till it squeals.)