Tall buildings construction guide 2026

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Steve Watts

Director, Real Estate, UK

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Our inaugural global tall buildings construction guide

Urbanisation, rising land values, changing workplace needs, housing demands and sustainability pressures are trends driving more global tall buildings, which are defined as those over 200m.

Understanding the costs of tall building construction is more critical than ever. Our data shows costs of global high-rise development rising significantly over the next five years. Facing commercial pressures, the industry is being asked to do more with less.  

This first edition of our Tall buildings construction guide provides a comprehensive view of the global tall buildings market. It includes focused insights and data on six key cities: London, Seoul, Tokyo, Mumbai, New York and Dubai.

Common commercial challenges for high rise markets, explored in this guide:

Sustained, heightened construction costs.
Inflationary backdrop, increased interest rates and difficult financing conditions.
Constrained supply chains and skills shortages, driving up prices for labour/materials.
Pervasive uncertainty, adding to risk premiums.
Competitive tendering conditions for clients looking to access tier 1 contractors.

How this guide helps the tall buildings sector

High rises are often a city’s most valuable commercial assets, especially in space constrained locations. The world is getting taller, with the number and height of tall buildings increasing globally.

Despite this growth, completions are slightly down from a 2023 peak, and a record number are on hold. While many have made substantial construction progress and are likely to restart, this shows a more cautious global approach to high rises.

Investment is gravitating to markets with strong fundamentals. To compete, teams must shape projects from the start, follow best practice and build on sound fundamentals.

In this report we combine expert insight with our sector-leading data to help developers find the right balance of value versus cost for their projects.

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