21.01.2022
The property and construction sectors of Cyprus are under stress due to the skyrocketing prices of building materials, making it difficult to recover from the pandemic and the abandonment of the golden passport scheme.
According to the Cyprus Statistical Service, there was a widespread increase in prices in 2021, resulting in a 10.98% increase in the total cost of construction compared to 2020.
Compared to 2019 before the coronavirus, the total cost of construction has increased by 10.51%.
Essential commodities such as steel, cement, sand, stone and wood materials have risen in price significantly in recent times.
According to CyStat, the building materials with the biggest gains are construction steel, whose prices rose a whopping 46.56% last year compared to 2020.
Wire rod prices jumped 33.39%, copper pipes 44.34% and steel pipes 32.69%.
Iron structures rose in price by 30.28%, structural mesh – by 27.06%, asphalt concrete – by 26.54%, cables – by 24.64%.
The increase is mainly due to the deregulation of the production chain, the restriction of exports from China, the absorption of a large amount of raw materials from the Chinese market.
High oil prices have also inevitably pushed up the cost of commodities such as structural steel, copper and metals.
The building materials price index for December 2021 rose to 119.66 points, up 0.63% from the previous month.
Compared to December 2020, the index recorded an increase of 17.10%.Comparing 2021 data to both 2020 and 2019 shows that building material prices have remained high.
In the cost of materials for sheds and roofs, metal parts for the installation of plasterboard and cement boards, the roof also went off scale.
The average cost increased by 23% in 2021 compared to 2020 and 2019.
As for electrical materials, the largest growth of 24.63% was recorded in the category of cables.
Prices for sockets, switches, fuses and insulators rose by 10.32%, while lamp prices remained stable.
Prices for heating and cooling materials have not changed much.
The average price of boilers increased by 3.27% in 2021 compared to 2020; central heating is up 5.6%, air conditioner prices are down 3.78% from 2020, and building a fireplace is up 5.11% in 2021.
Water tank prices remained stable, while plastic pipe prices rose by 14.80%.
