Spanish building delivery up despite spiralling costs
The sharp increase in raw material prices hasn't stopped construction growth, driven by high demand in the residential sector.
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The sharp rise in industrial prices has a strong impact on construction costs. At the end of April 2022, energy prices are at an all-time high, with an annual variation of 117% compared to 2021.
Oil reserves, trade negotiations, taxes, transport, the unstable international scenario and the rise of the dollar (barrels of oil are paid in this currency) are some of the reasons that influence this phenomenon.
Construction costs in building, including labour and material consumption, have grown at an annual rate of over 14% according to the latest data published by the Ministry of Public Works.
New non-residential buildings, which include typologies such as industrial, offices, etc., have increased by 21%, with a significant increase over the residential sector, whose increase stands at 10.6%. Refurbishments, which include residential and non-residential buildings, increased by 12.8%.
This increase in costs could affect all markets, although the residential market would be one of the most vulnerable as it is the most predominant type of new construction in Spain.
Building growth continues
Despite this scenario, for the time being the main indicators of the residential sector, such as building permits, the number of transactions and prices, continue to show positive growth. According to the latest data recorded, the number of housing approvals rose sharply after the decline in 2020 due to the health crisis, a drop that has now had a direct impact on the fall in the number of building completion certificates recorded in the first few months of 2022 (-7% year-on-year).
In terms of new-build transactions, there was an annual increase in sales of more than 9% up to April 2022.
The scarce supply and the increase in demand, together with the significant increase in construction costs since the end of 2020, is directly affecting new-build prices, which, like construction costs, are gradually rising and stood at over €1,980/sq m at the end of the first quarter of 2022, with an annual variation of 5.4% compared to 2021.
Even so, this figure reflects the fact that the impact of construction costs is, for the moment, being partly absorbed by developers, as these have increased by more than 10% in the same period.