SANTO DOMINGO - The president of the Association of Builders of Santo Domingo East (ACOSDE), Riubell Montes de Oca, warned that the construction sector in the municipality faces serious limitations that have negatively impacted its growth in 2025, highlighting that, contrary to the projection of an increase of 3.9%, the first half closed with a contraction of -2.3%.
During a visit to El Inmobiliario , the businessman explained that one of the main problems is the limited access to financial facilities with manageable interest rates, both for real estate development and for the acquisition of homes by the end customer.
“The soaring interest rates for real estate development are very high, and that doesn't allow us to properly finance projects to make them profitable. At the same time, the acquisition rate also slows things down when we have completed units that aren't sold because the end customer is in a state of recession ,” he noted.
The union leader indicated that, although construction progress in Santo Domingo East appears to be underway the pace could be faster with better conditions. He also mentioned that the low level of investment in public infrastructure has an indirect impact, as many construction companies combine private projects with government works.
“Although Santo Domingo East shows that construction is progressing, it could actually be doing better, it could be progressing at the same pace as planned. The low cost of public infrastructure, in turn, impacts the sector because the builder who does real estate development sometimes also has government development projects,” he explained.
He also criticized the persistent bureaucracy in the procedures at various institutions. “Another limitation we face is the bureaucracy involved in processing applications at different institutions. While I don't intend to single one out, there are issues to resolve and opportunities for improvement in every institution,” he stated.
Regarding prices per square meter, Montes de Oca noted that after the pandemic there was an increase related to the rise in construction material costs, a trend that continues today. However, he cautioned that it is not always possible to adjust the final sale price to reflect these increased costs, especially in the low- and middle-income housing segments.
“Even now, costs continue to rise, which is why, as I've mentioned before, we haven't been able to increase the sale price, which is the final cost of the home. There are segments where it's simply not possible—low-cost segments—and the middle and high-cost segments are where the difficulty in raising prices is most acute, given the current budgets we're working with. This is also a cause for concern,” he concluded.
