Story by: Ferrara Editor
May 20, 2025
The commercial construction landscape is transforming rapidly, with South Carolina expanding 0.6% in Q1 2024 over Q1 2023. At Ferrara Buist Contractors, we stay ahead of industry shifts rather than simply reacting to them. Positioned in the Carolinas market where manufacturing construction is driving sector growth with a 20.5% year-over-year increase as of late 2024, we monitor the dynamics reshaping construction throughout the region. With construction costs rising 5.4% year-over-year according to the latest industry data, the following five key developments are defining commercial construction in 2025 and may directly impact your project’s timeline, budget and success.
Across both Carolinas, the permitting process has become increasingly troublesome, with delays often extending project timelines by weeks and months. This growing challenge stems from a perfect storm of municipal staffing shortages, increasingly complex zoning regulations and stricter environmental compliance requirements.
What This Means For Your Bottom Line: Construction delays can significantly erode your return on investment. In fact, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) estimates that regulatory costs—including permitting—now account for over 24% of the cost of a new single-family home. Delays in permitting are a primary contributor to this. To protect your investment, you need a contractor who understands how to move efficiently through local bureaucracy. Our team begins the permitting process early in preconstruction, maintains continuous contact with local inspection departments and leverages longstanding municipal relationships to keep projects moving. According to industry analyses, proactive risk management (including permitting oversight) can reduce project delays by up to 25%, ensure timelines stay on track and budgets remain intact.
The Carolinas market is witnessing unprecedented adoption of tilt-up concrete construction and pre-engineered metal building systems, particularly in warehouse, light industrial and retail sectors. These methodologies can offer 30-40% faster completion times and provide much-needed budget predictability.
Why It’s Revolutionizing Commercial Construction: In today’s competitive landscape, speed-to-market can determine a project’s ultimate success. According to the Tilt-Up Concrete Association and broader industry data, tilt-up construction methods are associated with faster timelines and improved durability. With successful tilt-up projects in our portfolio and crews experienced with pre-engineered building systems, our team brings the specialized skills these precision-dependent methodologies demand.
After a turbulent few years, construction material prices began leveling off in late 2024 and remained relatively stable into Q1 2025. Lumber prices, which spiked dramatically during the pandemic, saw a roughly 15% decline between September 2024 and February 2025. Steel prices have held steady through early 2025 following sharp corrections in 2023, while concrete has experienced only modest increases, hopefully suggesting a more predictable cost landscape for developers and contractors alike.
However, while materials have cooled, labor challenges are heating up. According to a 2024 report from Associated Builders and Contractors, the U.S. construction industry faced a shortage of more than 500,000 skilled workers. With workforce participation lagging and retirements accelerating, the talent gap is expected to persist and potentially widen through 2025 and beyond.
How We’re Ensuring Project Continuity: While many contractors struggle with subcontractor availability, our decade-long relationships with key trade partners ensure our projects maintain momentum even during labor crunches. Our scheduling team implements strategic phasing that maximizes crew efficiency, and our fair payment practices keep us at the top of our subcontractors’ priority lists.
The market has evolved beyond pursuing sustainability certifications merely for marketing purposes. Today’s savvy commercial property owners demand energy-efficient systems, enhanced building envelopes and smart building technologies that deliver measurable ROI through reduced operational costs.
Our Data-Driven Sustainability Approach: At Ferrara Buist, we prioritize practical sustainability solutions that reduce environmental impact while delivering measurable business value. By collaborating early with mechanical and electrical engineers, we pinpoint cost-effective design interventions that reduce energy consumption without inflating upfront costs.
This strategic approach benefits the environment and enhances your bottom line. According to research from the Urban Land Institute, energy efficiency improvements can contribute to notable increases in net operating income, while high-performance buildings often realize energy savings of 30–50% and a 3–5 year payback window. ULI’s Tenant Energy Optimization Program also reports average internal rates of return exceeding 25% on energy-saving investments over a standard lease term.
Why It Matters:
When tenants and investors increasingly prioritize sustainability, efficient buildings aren’t just responsible, they’re more valuable. By integrating performance-focused solutions from day one, we help future-proof your property while increasing its financial appeal.
The Carolinas remain among the nation’s fastest-growing regions, with particularly strong activity in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area, Greater Charleston and along the I-85 corridor. However, prime developable parcels are becoming increasingly scarce, especially for retail and distribution center projects requiring specific access and visibility parameters.
Our Strategic Site Selection Expertise: Our team conducts comprehensive site feasibility analyses before clients commit to land acquisition. We evaluate not just the obvious factors like zoning, but also consider things like soil conditions, utility capacity, stormwater management requirements and potential permitting challenges – providing crucial insights that can prevent costly mistakes.
Ferrara Buist approaches every project with a long-term perspective, because successful commercial construction isn’t just about completing buildings, but creating lasting assets that perform for decades. While the commercial construction landscape in the Carolinas presents complex challenges, it also offers tremendous opportunities for those with the right expertise and foresight.
Ready to discuss how these industry trends might impact your upcoming project? Our pre-construction team offers consultations to evaluate your concept, timeline and budget parameters. Contact us today for straightforward guidance and a clear roadmap to success in this evolving market.
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