Construction Costs, Red Tape, and Housing Crisis - A Candid Conversation with Marlon Bray
A chartered quantity surveyor by trade, Marlon has almost 30 years of experience in the Construction and Development field.
His expertise encompasses countless sectors of the industry from high-rise residential, through Universities & Colleges, highways, and large-scale transit. Over his career, Marlon has been involved in more than 7,000 projects, with the past number of years more focused on residential, office and industrial.
In this episode of Real Estate Development Insights, we explore a topic at the heart of every development conversation today: construction costs. Our guest, Marlon Bray, is a seasoned industry expert who recently transitioned from cost consulting into a more hands-on construction management role. With decades of experience in pricing, budgeting, and project execution, Marlon offers a candid and insightful look at the evolving landscape of construction costs in Canada.
We’ve all heard the headlines—construction costs are falling. But is that good news? Not exactly. As Marlon explains, today’s cost reductions are a symptom of deeper industry problems, not a sign of market health. The dramatic drop in activity, loss of trades, and market hesitancy have all contributed to reduced pricing, but at a hidden cost: a weakened development ecosystem and eroding long-term capacity.
This episode breaks down the complex relationship between construction cost trends, municipal red tape, policy stagnation, and developer hesitation. If you’re a builder, planner, or investor wondering when to re-enter the market—or trying to understand what the real cost drivers are—this episode is essential listening.
Key topics we cover:
- Why construction costs are falling—and why developers should be cautious, not celebratory.
- The real reason thousands of shovel-ready units remain stalled.
- How planning delays and policy inconsistency drive up both risk and cost.
- The role of tariffs and taxes in inflating material prices.
- Why “cost” isn’t just about dollars per square foot—it’s about timing, approvals, and survival.
- Critical mistakes new developers make when estimating project costs.
- The long-term danger of talent loss and trade attrition due to stalled projects.
Construction Innovation Checklist
This document is a supplementary resource to
episode #24 of the Real Estate Development
Insights Podcast in which Payam Noursalehi shares a practical framework for evaluating and selecting the most suitable innovative systems for your next project.
