Building costs up 8.5% on 2020

The cost of building new build homes has risen 8.5% in the past 12 months in Portugal according to the National Statistics Institute (INE).

The reasons? The rising cost of and supply problems for raw materials and a lack of manpower.
According to the INE, costs in new construction in November soared 8.5% in what was the greatest increase since 2008.
Last year, the cost of raw materials and manpower were both 9.4% and 7.3% respectively.
In November, the estimated like-for-like variation in the Index for New Housing Construction Costs (ICCNH) was 8.5%, the greatest increase in 13 years. For the same month, the price of materials shot up 9.4% (above the 8.8% increase in October), and manpower costs rose 7.3% (above the 5.2% in October) within the space of a year.
According to the INE, the greatest increases in prices were seen on building materials, with an international scarcity of certain products as a result of supply and chain disruptions from the pandemic.
The latest data from Eurostat for October shows that construction in the Euro Zone and EU increased, but by comparison, building projects in Portugal suffered the third greatest monthly fall (-1.2%).
The construction sector has been one of the worst affected by a scarcity of labourers, with a shortfall of around 70,000 workers. Moreover, the industry has been pressured by an increase in the costs of raw materials, energy costs, and building materials — trends which are being experienced worldwide.