Developers in Chicago are building as fast as they can right now. It's counterintuitive to people on the outside, but from what I read, it's because labor, material, and capital are dirt cheap. So the developers are putting up new skyscrapers and other mega-developments so they're in a good position to take advantage of the recovery.

A new 57-story office tower opened just last week: https://www.chicagoarchitecture.org/2020/10/18/a-new-skyscra...

Dozens of new residential towers have been announced, and at least a dozen are under construction, including one that's almost finished at 101 stories tall.

https://www.chicagoarchitecture.org/2020/10/05/sit-back-brea...

Exactly the same in NYC. Real estate investment is planned on 50-100 year basis. We're in for a 3-5 year blip from a utilization perspective, but on longer timeframes, now is really just a great time to add to the capital base.

I was under the impression that building materials are very expensive right now.

You are correct, metal prices are up 3x and wood at least 2x. Building might be happening due to demand, but not because the materials are cheap. It might be possible that labor in big cities might be cheaper, but I doubt it.

I think you will find that material prices are <20% of the capital cost.

Absolutely. Check out the price of lumber: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-07/timber-to...

Money is cheap now.

Yep, soft wood prices are up 20-25% right now.

> A new 57-story office tower opened just last week

Surely this didnt start or finish as a result of the last 6 months?

If the sales tax has been sold to investors, won't that be good for the city? It would mean the investors would lose out, not the city.