According to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), in August, the year-over-year increase of 3.8% in the New Housing Construction Cost Index (ICCHN) saw labor costs contributing 3.3 percentage points (compared to 3.9 percentage points in the previous month), while the contribution from materials was 0.5 percentage points (down from 0.8 percentage points in July).
Among the materials that significantly influenced the aggregated price variation were ‘glass and mirrors’, which rose by approximately 30%, along with ‘coatings, insulations, and waterproofing materials’ and ‘ready-mix concrete’, both increasing by around 5%.
Conversely, ‘bitumen’ and ‘ceramic products’ saw a decline of about 10%, and ‘PVC pipes’, ‘mild and galvanized steel sheets’, and ‘steel pipelines, cast iron, and plumbing appliances’ experienced a decrease of approximately 5%.
The monthly variation rate of the ICCHN was -0.3% in August, 0.8 percentage points lower than the previous month, with both material and labor costs decreasing by 0.3%.
Labor contributed -0.1 percentage points to the monthly index variation rate, while the price of materials contributed -0.2 percentage points (compared to 0.3 percentage points and 0.2 percentage points in July, respectively).
