Eli5: why are estimated budgets for big construction projects always wrong and end up spending more than expected? Why can’t we get better at these estimates?
In: Economics
Big jobs of any sort require a LOT of moving parts coming together. The time between quote and start of work can be months. That’s a lot of time for prices to fluctuate, schedules to change, regulations to change, and so on and so on.
There’s plenty of illegitimate reasons as well. Overscheduling, understaffing, flat out lying to get the job in the first place, etc…
Overall, because there’s so many moving parts, there’s a lot of room for both unexpected, and ill-intentioned, changes to the original quote.
Latest Answers