The International Construction Market Survey 2017 from Turner & Townsend shows that New York City, San Francisco, Zurich, Hong Kong and London top the league table of the most expensive places to build and that half of the world’s construction markets are suffering from skills shortages that are contributing to costs going up. The survey, covering construction costs such as labour and materials for commercial and residential projects in 43 global markets, points to an overall cost increase this year of 3.5 percent, a result both of steady economic growth and rising skills shortages in more than half of the world’s markets. Labour costs in leading markets have hit new highs, the survey states, with construction workers in New York City and Zurich paid nearly $100 (€89) per hour. New York City has overtaken Zurich as the most expensive city in which to build, with an average cost of $3,807 (€3,394) per m2, followed by San Francisco ($3,549/€3,164 per