SANTO DOMINGO- Housing developers are spending 6.87% more than twelve months ago on the construction of their projects, according to the Direct Housing Construction Cost Index (ICDV) for last March.
Although it has been decreasing since January of this year, the figure remains high compared to 2022, therefore companies that build as well as individuals, in the Metropolitan region of the country, spend 6.87% more than last year.
In its most recent monthly report on construction price variations, the National Statistics Office (ONE) reports that, overall, the index fell 1.19% in March, compared to the previous month. The cost measurement value dropped from 225.77 in February to 223.08 the following month.
Unlike the monthly variation, the annual average rose 6.87% in 2023. In March 2022, the ICVD stood at 208.73 and this year it rose to 223.08, for a difference of 14.35. The measurement parameter does not include indirect costs such as land, design, construction permits or financial costs.
By cost groups, the main decrease was in materials, with -1.51%, and the main increase was in the tools group, with 0.35%.
Source: ONE.
The largest decreases were seen in flooring and ceramics, with a 23.54% drop; elevators, with
a 3.25% decrease; and electrical wires, with a 2.06% decrease. Meanwhile, the largest increases were in PVC pipes and fittings, with a 1.21% increase; followed by ironwork subcontracts,
with a 0.47% increase; and tools, with a 0.35% increase.
The ONE (National Statistics Office) indicates that the variation in cost by housing type was positive in March, with a 1.79% decrease for the construction of two-story single-family homes. Meanwhile, the construction of four-story condominiums fell by 1.77%, followed by multi-family housing projects, towers with more than eight stories, which saw a 0.89% improvement in their cost index.
By type of housing, the ICDV was 225.78 for single-family housing on one level; 224.89 for single-family housing on two levels; 220.76 for multi-family housing on four levels; and 220.90 for multi-family housing on eight levels or more.
Meanwhile, single-level constructions registered a variation of 0.31% compared to their February index, the ONE documented in its report.
What is the ICDV?
The Direct Housing Construction Cost Index (ICDV) is a statistical tool that allows us to know the monthly variations experienced by the cost of construction of four types of housing: single-family homes of 1 and 2 levels, and multi-family homes of 4 and 8 levels or more, in the National District and the province of Santo Domingo (indirect costs such as land, design, construction permits, financial costs, profits of the construction company, etc. are excluded).
Its calculation methodology is based on the Laspeyres Index, which considers a basket with a structure of fixed weights over time and compares the prices of the reference period with those of the base period (October 2009).
