Anyone have an idea percentage wise of how much more it costs now to build vs. 6 years ago?  I'm trying to get an idea of general build cost now so I  don't get sticker shock if I want to build something.

Depends entirely on where you want to build!!

For arguments sake, let's say next door to original build and duplicating what was built 6 years ago.

See attached file, you will never get a truly accurate statement but this is best benchmark to use.

CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS PRICE INDEX 2000 - 2009 from the Ministry of Commerce. (This is for all for commodities so includes steel which is the main culprit for most price escalations (and its on its way up again)

http://www.price.moc.go.th/en/Default5.aspx

edit in summary as of May 2009, the index for this year was at 136.2, whereas in 2003 it was 112.8.

Thanks q.

Minimum legal labor cost in Phuket from 120 to 200 baht in 6 years. But hard to find even Burmese working minimum laborcost these days.

Some exclusive materials have become less expensive, like glass washbasins, 60 x 60 cm tiles, hotwaterpipes, hotwatertaps.

I d say 80 % increase in base construction and labor price, but exclusive finshing and farang spec actually less expensive in 6 years.

steelepulse, you might want to check out one of the website forums that deal exclusively with foreigners building homes in Thailand. There's a lot of very good information posted regarding actual labor and material costs for various projects. Please PM me if you need the URL.