Eh… Contractors are charging what they are charging now because they can, not necessarily because materials and labor costs justify it. I’ve been slowly rehabbing my basement this year, and I’m doing most of the work myself because the quotes I’ve been getting to have somebody do it for me are so steep that about half the time they would cover me setting up a whole competing company from scratch in addition to material costs. That’s not an exaggeration. For what the plumber wanted for a repipe I could buy all the tools I need, attend training, get certification and a license, set up an LLC, and go into business for myself, and still have enough money left over to cover my costs on the project.

Not that I think all that profit is going into the pockets of the tradespeople doing the work, well compensated as they are, but at the end of the day it’s down to high demand and a shortage of skilled labor due to decades of us devaluing the trades as a career. If I’m in the top third of the income distribution and the only reason I can afford to maintain my very modest house is because I have the skillset to do it by myself, something’s gone haywire.