Tender prices 'have passed lowest point'

Tender prices rose by an average of 0.5% in the final quarter of 2010 compared to the previous quarter, according to the latest data from the Building Cost Information Service (BCIS).

The data also shows that tender prices have risen 2.8% since the final quarter in 2009, meaning that prices hit a rock bottom last year but have now begun to recover.

Yet this rise was outstripped by materials costs, which rose dramatically by 6.8% over the year, although did not increase between the third and fourth quarters.

Construction employment was also flat between Q3 and Q4 in 2010, but fell 2% compared to the previous year.

Peter Rumble, information services manager at the BCIS said: “Tender price falls would seem to have bottomed out in 2010, with tender prices having risen over each of the last three quarters, and despite new work output being expected to fall in 2011 and 2012, it is anticipated that tender prices will continue on a slow upward trend over the next couple of years, driven by increases in input costs.”