In July 2025, construction costs for new housing are estimated to have increased by 4.8% year-on-year, which is 0.9 percentage points (p.p.) higher than the previous month, announced the National Statistics Institute (INE) on Monday.
Material prices recorded a variation of 1.5%, while labor costs climbed 8.9%.
“In July 2025, the year-on-year change in the Construction Cost Index for New Housing (ICCHN) stood at 4.8%, a rate 0.9 p.p. higher than observed in June,” reads the INE report.
The “prices of materials showed a variation of 1.5% (1.0% in the previous month) and the cost of labor increased by 8.9% (+1.5 p.p. compared to June).”
“Labor costs contributed 4.0 p.p. (3.4 p.p. in the previous month) to the year-on-year variation rate of the ICCHN, and materials recorded a contribution of 0.8 p.p. (0.5 p.p. in June),” it states.
The INE also notes that “among the materials that most positively influenced the aggregated price change are Glasses and mirrors, with an increase of about 30%, and Air conditioning units with an increase of about 15%.”
In contrast, “notable decreases were observed in Mild steel and galvanized sheet with a drop of about 15%, and Steel pipe, cast iron, and plumbing apparatus with reductions around 10%,” it reports.
Additionally, the INE reported that “the monthly variation rate of the ICCHN was 0.7% in July 2025, 0.3 p.p. higher than recorded in the previous month.”
“Labor contributed 0.6 p.p. to the monthly variation rate of the ICCHN, while the contribution of material prices was 0.1 p.p. (0.6 p.p. and -0.2 p.p. in June, respectively),” it adds.
The Construction Cost Index for New Housing (ICCHN), it is noted, “is a derived statistic aimed at measuring the cost of constructing residential buildings in Portugal. The ICCHN is a statistic of community relevance, covered by Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and the Council of 27 November 2019 on European business statistics.”
“The current series of the ICCHN, which commenced in January 2000, has a base year of 2021=100 and replaces the previous series referenced to 2015. The ICCHN is published monthly about 40 days after the end of the reference period of the index. In addition to the total, the National Statistics Institute presents separate series for labor costs and the cost of construction materials,” it further explains.
The Minister for State and Administrative Reform announced today that the government will soon launch the “single window for businesses” and review various licensing processes, including urban planning, to shorten construction timelines.
Lusa | 23:14 – 30/08/2025
