The economic downturn is creating bargain opportunities for those looking to build houses, schools or other construction projects.

With the recession reducing construction activity in the private sector, builders are competing fiercely for a limited supply of projects and even lowering their bids for public projects such as schools.

"Contractors are a little more hungry," said Tom Janish, finance director for Aberdeen public schools.

Architect Dean Marske said the last three projects designed by his company, HKG Architects of Aberdeen, saw bids come in up to 20 percent under budget.

Bids awarded for construction of Sisseton's fine arts center came to $3.6 million, well under its $4 million budget. Before the recession, four or five companies would typically bid on such projects. Now it is nine or 10, Marske said.

"We really saw an influx of bidders from Minnesota and Sioux Falls," he said.

Marske said he knows of two Minnesota contractors who are bidding projects at cost just to keep their doors open, their equipment running and their employees working so they don't have to be laid off.

More than 50 bids came in for an expansion of the Brown County Landfill, a project that would typically draw about 15 bids, said Helms and Associates civil engineer Sam Muntean.

"Just a huge number of people were interested in that job," Muntean said. "There's not as much private-sector work."

Not everything is cheaper in construction. The contract the city of Aberdeen accepted for 2009 concrete patch work comes with a 15-percent hike in the price of concrete, said Stuart Nelson, the city's assistant engineer. That's partly because cement, an ingredient of concrete, is more costly.