SACRAMENTO, the United States, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Driven by surging costs in materials and labor, residents in the U.S. state of California are paying 67 percent more for home remodeling than they did 10 years ago, a U.S. data analytics company said Friday.
The cost has risen 67 percent in a decade, which is twice the rate of inflation as the U.S. Consumer Price Index climbed 33 percent over 2013, according to a report by the data analytics company Verisk Analytics.
The soaring expenses have increased costs not only for homeowners and landlords but also for builders and insurers.
In California, the reconstruction costs grew 5.8 percent in the past year. The highest annual surge rate happened in the previous three years, which stood at 8.7 percent, as a result of the impact of the pandemic.
The costs of materials used in home repairs surged after the COVID-19 pandemic, and the trend has since continued, it said.
Meanwhile, concrete composite became the leading driver for material costs, with drywall and interior trim followed closely.
For labor costs, concrete mason continued to show the fastest increase of all labor categories at 12.2 percent.
Wildfires, hurricanes and other natural hazard events in the United States have started influencing reconstruction costs, especially labor prices. ■