During the last month, the Direct Cost Index for Housing Construction registered an increase of 1.70%

Taken from Diario Libre

SANTO DOMINGO.- The construction of single-family homes in the National District and Santo Domingo province saw the largest price increase in January 2022, at 2.25%, driven by higher prices for materials, subcontracts, and tools.

This is reflected in the Direct Housing Construction Cost Index (ICDV), which includes the cost of building residences in the aforementioned areas, excluding indirect costs such as: land, design, construction permits , financial costs and profits of the construction company, among others.

Two-story single-family homes continued to see the second-largest increase in construction during the first month of the year, rising by 1.63%. These were followed by four-story multi-family homes, whose construction costs increased by 1.53%.

Similarly, multi-family housing, eight stories or more, was not immune to inflation due to rising costs of materials and tools. The ICDV indicates that the construction of these buildings increased by 1.40% in January.

Overall, the Direct Housing Construction Cost Index increased by 15.87%, measured from January 2021 to the same month this year, rising from an average of 178 points to 207.36 during that period. During the last month, the indicator registered an increase of 1.70%.

The increase in the index in January was influenced by the rises in several cost groups, including subcontracts, which increased by 3.49%, and materials, with 1.68%, according to the document, prepared by the National Statistics Office (ONE).

Similarly, the tools group saw an increase of 1.17% and machinery 0.34%. Only the labor group did not experience an increase in the first month of 2022.

Those that decreased

Within the cost subgroups, only three types showed decreases in January: PVC pipes and fittings (-2.28%), paints and electrical wires, both with -0.71%.

However, the remaining subgroups – concrete, blocks and others, aluminum and glass finishing subcontracts, electrical miscellaneous, cements and glues, electrical equipment and finishing subcontracts – registered considerable increases.

“The main increases were seen in subcontracts for finishing work, with 9.56%; followed by electrical equipment, with 7.55% and cements and glues, with 6.85%,” the ICDV highlights.

In the case of miscellaneous electrical items, these had increases of 5.73%; subcontracts for aluminum and glass finishes 5.16%, blocks and others 4.53% and concrete 3.04%.