1. Census Construction Cost Index
The Census Bureau has an index which looks at new single‐family homes under
construction. The measure comes from a survey and is adjusted statistically to attempt to
cover a “constant quality” of homes, making adjustments for things like house size,
construction methods, materials, and location, while excluding value of land and other
non‐construction costs.
Over the past decade the index is up just over 25 percent. Similar to home prices, the
index peaked in 2007 and has decreased the past few years. In August, year‐over‐year the
index is down 0.8 percent, and down 0.4 percent from July.
When comparing the index to home prices, the trend is fairly similar. However, home
prices rose more steeply and fell more severely from their peak levels.
Produced by NAR Research
October 22, 2010

2. http://www.census.gov/const/www/constpriceindex.html
Produced by NAR Research
Census Construction Cost Index