Malaga, along with Barcelona and Madrid, tops the list of the most expensive Spanish cities to build, according to the report "International Construction Costs in 2023" (ICC), which analyzed the 100 largest cities in the world on six continents. In the world ranking, the first three places are occupied by Geneva (Switzerland), London (UK) and New York (USA).
They are followed by San Francisco (USA), Munich (Germany), Hong Kong (China), Copenhagen (Denmark), Boston (USA), Zurich (Switzerland) and Philadelphia (USA). Barcelona, Malaga and Madrid occupy 73rd, 76th and 79th places in the ranking, and Lisbon and Porto (approx. both in Portugal) — 68th and 74th place respectively. The rating was compiled according to the New Horizons index.
The study was published by the consulting, engineering and eco-friendly construction company Arcadis. Cities were ranked according to the cost of construction and the complexity of projects under development. The index covered 20 different types of buildings, including housing, commercial real estate and infrastructure facilities.
Decarbonization in the real estate sector
The cost data underlying the ICC rating also takes into account changes in the technical characteristics of buildings and the degree of "carbon neutrality" of buildings. The forecasts in the study indicate the inevitability of an increase in the cost of construction in Europe in the short term. It can vary from 5% to 7% for new residential real estate and from 7% to 10% for commercial buildings.
Nevertheless, due to the need to mitigate the already emerging effects of climate change, as well as taking into account the rapidly growing need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the cost of construction is increasingly receding into the background. However, for the development of the environmental sector, first of all it is necessary to focus on the best areas of the city, which attract the wealthiest buyers and investors willing to spend large sums of money.
Kathleen Abbott, Arcadis Global Sales Director, noted that the behavior of real estate markets, even if it is spiraling, repeating, but constantly changing, it is necessary to understand that the need to ensure environmental friendliness will not disappear. Decarbonization of the real estate sector will only expand.