Why Does It Cost So Much to Build Today Compared to Five Years Ago? (2026)

When it is time to buy a car and that sticker shock hits the gut and the pocketbook, you find yourself asking, “What happened? Where did the price of yesterday go?”

Sometimes you can tell yourself it is just the way it is. Point to the stock market. Point to the laws of supply and demand. But here is a shocker. Government regulations have a substantial impact on both prices and quality, and that impact often gets blamed on the wrong target. A person, a company, or even a whole industry takes the hit when the real cause is not understood.

An article published 6/9/2026 by the NAHB (National Association of Home Builders) shows a shocking number. A five-year study found that regulatory costs jumped 40%, adding $131,734 to the cost of a new home. Yup, that is not a typo, friends. Those are hidden costs builders are having to deal with. The largest factor in the study was “changes to building codes over the past ten years.” The study does not break down which specific codes drove the jump. What it also does not say out loud is that the DOE, FEMA, and EPA have all been actively pushing for stronger codes. The DOE in particular has funded efforts to push state and local governments toward tighter code adoption.

The short version

When that builder, contractor, remodeler, or trade professional hands you a number that makes your pacemaker shock you two or three times, do not shoot the messenger. As much as building codes keep us all safe, there are others (the ones that are not defined as “Life Safety”) that have run amok for over a decade. Today’s prices are reflecting that.

What we can promise

One of the most important things we in the construction industry can do is educate the consumer. Smarter purchasing choices give consumers real influence and buying power, and that power can help make a correction in things like overreaching regulations that, at the end of the day, affect all of us.

What Centurion can do

We will have honest conversations about your project at the beginning, during the build, and after it is done so the value of what we are doing is clear. We also hope to teach you a little about our industry along the way. We are proud to do what we do.

Have a project in mind? Tell me a little about what you are imagining. We would love to show it off when it’s complete and stand proud with you.

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