Xactware Releases 2010 Property Report for Canada

January 1, 2011 / 2 min read

Recession drives down cost to rebuild

OREM, Utah, February 10, 2011 — The global recession played a strong role in driving down the average cost to reconstruct a home in Canada last year, according to Xactware’s 2010 Property Report.

The newly released 2010 Property Report for Canada reveals that national reconstruction costs dropped 0.8 per cent by the end of the year. Only Newfoundland and Manitoba reported minor increases, while reconstruction costs in the remaining eight provinces diminished.

“The overall decreases can be attributed to the sluggish economy”, said Mike Fulton, Xactware’s assistant vice president of Pricing Data Services. “As activity in the construction and housing industries slowed over the past few years, demand for building materials and labour weakened, which led to a reduction in costs.”

In addition to declines in reconstruction costs, many indicators of building costs in Canada, such as retail labour, drywall, roofing materials, and carpet, decreased by the end of 2010. The price of lumber, which rose nearly 12.72 per cent, was one of the few exceptions to this trend.

As a leader in claims estimating and pricing data services for the property insurance, remodeling, and restoration industries, Xactware compiles year-end property reports to provide construction and insurance professionals with insight on major trends in pricing and claims activity. Xactware’s in-house pricing research staff, which has more than 400 years of combined experience in construction and restoration, gathered and analyzed data from 37 Canadian markets to tabulate rate changes contained in this report.

“Even though Canada appears to be on its way to recovery from the global recession, much uncertainty still exists about the future,” said Fulton. “Reliable, independently researched information, like this property report, is a valuable resource that can help construction and insurance professionals make sound decisions during the coming year.”

In addition to details about reconstruction and building cost trends, the report includes these key findings from data reported to Xactware:

the total number of property claim estimates
the average value of property claim estimates per month and by loss type
the difference between a home’s market value and its reconstruction costs
the rising popularity of green building materials and techniques

Visit www.xactware.com to learn more about the 2010 Property Report for Canada.

About Xactware
Xactware Solutions (Xactware) is a Verisk Analytics company that specializes in the property insurance, remodeling, and restoration industries. Xactware’s technology tools include software estimating programs for PCs and tablet PCs, as well as powerful online systems for replacement-cost calculations, estimate tracking, and data trending in real time. For more information about Xactware’s products and services, call Xactware at 1-800-424-9228.

Release: Immediate

Contact
Joel Dagenais
800-932-9228 x4548
jjdagenais@xactware.com