The cost of building materials in Cyprus has skyrocketed this year, making it harder for the real estate and construction sectors to recover after the scrapping of the ‘golden passports’ scheme and having suffered from the coronavirus pandemic fallout.
Increases are recorded across the board, as crucial items such as steel, cement, sand, stone aggregates and wood-based materials have seen a significant price increase in the last seven months, pushing up the overall construction cost by 7.21%, compared to the same period last year.
According to the Statistical Service, Cystat, the building material with the largest increase is construction steel with prices rising by 35.20% for the January – July period, compared to the same period last year.
Next are iron rods with the price also skyrocketing by 33.39%, while copper pipes recorded an increase of 30.39%.
The prices of ceramics have also gone up, with the cost of roof tiles for the first seven months of the year increasing by 1.42% year on year.
Bricks recorded an 8.78% increase, while for porcelain sanitary ware the increase was 1.65%.
Tiles was the only building material that recorded a decrease, as prices dropped a notch by 1.06%.
Builders and construction companies also saw the price of wood inflate, as prices increased by 12.06%.
Costs for cupboard wood increased by 4.72%, for doors and windows by 3.66%, while industrial wood (plywood, MDF, parquet, laminated) increased by 7.08%.
Thermal insulation materials increased by 10.36% and waterproofing materials by 0.79%.
Plastic pipes saw an increase of 9.89%, PVC for doors and windows went up by 3.98%.
Sanitary ware made from acrylic materials are now 8.05% more expensive.
Electrical material
Regarding the electrical materials, the largest increase of 19.18% was recorded in the category of cables.
Prices of sockets, switches, fuses and insulators increased by 8.69%, while for lamps the increase was 0.48% in the seven months of the year.
When it comes to metal products, steel pipes are now 26.66% more expensive, while prices for iron railings increased by 23.03%.
Marble prices went up by 2.18%, while the prices of granites and decorative stones remained stable. Aluminum for doors and windows increased by 2.14%, while railings and aluminum grilles recorded an increase of 3.96%. There was no price increase for locks, hinges and handles.
The cost of burners and boilers increased by 1.65%, central heating installations increased by 3.11%, while the cost of fireplaces increased by 4.85%.
Prices for solar and electric water heaters went up by 5.43%, while prices for pumps, pressure switches and water filters increased by 2.26%, and for elevators by 1.29%.
