What does a wooden building cost?

06.05.2021

It is generally accepted that timber buildings are better than solid buildings from an ecological point of view. The big question is: How do the two construction methods compare economically? The consulting firm Wüest Partner AG has evaluated eight major new timber construction projects of recent years. The conclusion: timber construction, the ecological leader, can also hold its own economically.

Regardless of whether private individuals build single-family homes or institutional investors act as developers in large-scale projects - the costs of construction projects are central. For a long time, there was a rumor that timber buildings are fundamentally more expensive than solid buildings. The study Timber Construction for Investors (Report in German) by the consulting company Wüst Partner AG and the recently published Lignum magazine What does a timber building cost (Report in German) dispels this misconception. The sample and the study focus are still too small to clarify all details, but one basic statement can already be made: Wooden buildings and comparable solid buildings are equally expensive. At the same time, the study shows important advantages of timber construction. 

If you want cost certainty, build with wood  

The scatter of the cost parameters for timber buildings is much smaller than that of the reference data sets. This is partly due to the evaluated timber buildings themselves, but is also generally due to the high level of detail in planning in timber construction, which greatly improves cost and schedule reliability. Thanks to a high degree of prefabrication, timber construction not only achieves very good quality, but can also be optimally integrated into a BIM planning process. 

If you want to build fast, build with wood  

Thanks to a high degree of prefabrication, timber construction not only achieves very good quality, but can also be optimally integrated into a BIM planning process. The faster construction method can make a significant difference. In the case of the large Sue&Til project in Winterthur, the construction time was six months less than for a comparable solid construction.

If you build in good locations, build with wood  

The added value is higher, especially in good locations, because the higher land value means that more capital is tied up in financing the land, which means that a shorter construction period leads to a greater reduction in financing costs. In relative terms, however, the added value is more significant in average locations, since the share of financing costs in relation to the land value is higher. In the course of the investment calculation, an increase in the market value or land value of more than 2% can be achieved with a timber construction due to the shortening of the construction period.