The main price increases were seen in wire, nails, and zinc.
SANTO DOMINGO.– The Direct Housing Construction Cost Index (ICDV) registered a monthly variation of 0.53% in January 2026, according to the official bulletin published by the National Statistics Office (ONE).
According to the report for the month of January, the indicator stood at 237.42 points, representing an increase of 1.26 points compared to December 2025, when it stood at 236.16.
The ONE explained in the bulletin that, from December 2024 to January 2026, the index accumulated a variation of 0.53%, while in year-on-year terms, compared to January 2025, the increase was 0.57%.
Variation by type of housing
According to data contained in the ICDV, the largest monthly variation was recorded in single-family housing with one level, with an increase of 0.88%.
Meanwhile, single-family homes with two levels showed a variation of 0.49%; multi-family homes with four levels, 0.42%; and multi-family homes with eight or more levels, 0.34%, according to the ONE report.
Materials that lead increases
The bulletin details that the materials group was the main driver of the monthly increase, registering a variation of 1.26%.
Likewise, subcontracts grew by 0.26%, while labor costs remained unchanged (0.00%). In contrast, machinery costs decreased by -0.08%, and the tools category experienced a significant drop of -10.17%, according to the technical document.
By subgroups, the ONE indicated that the main increases were seen in wires, nails, zinc and others (8.70%); electrical wires (4.56%); electrical accessories (4.30%); paint (3.12%); equipment and appliances for plumbing installations (2.96%); and cements and glues (2.43%).
Conversely, the most significant negative variations were observed in tools (-10.17%); aggregates (-4.69%); subcontracting of terminations (-1.90%); and miscellaneous electrical items (-1.73%), according to the official report.
Scope of the index
The ONE recalled that the ICDV is a statistical tool that measures the monthly variations in the direct construction costs of four types of housing: single-family homes of one and two levels, and multi-family homes of four and eight levels or more, in the National District and the province of Santo Domingo.
The agency specified that the indicator excludes indirect costs such as land acquisition, design, permits, financial costs and business profits, and that its methodology is based on the Laspeyres index with October 2009 as the base year.
With this result, the behavior of direct construction costs in January 2026 reflects pressures focused on specific materials, in a context of relative stability in labor and mixed variations in other components, according to the technical bulletin released by the ONE.
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