Statistics: Construction prices started rising at end of 2020
While the construction price index in Estonia fell by 0.1 percent on year to the fourth quarter of 2020 (Q4 2020), state agency Statistics Estonia reports, between Q3 and Q4 2020, the index rose, by 0.4 percent.
Ülo Paulus, Statistics Estonia analyst, says the Q4 2020 rise on the previous quarter was primarily driven by an increase in the costs of materials, and also by growth in wages and salaries.
Paulus said: "Compared with the average for 2019, the labour force was 0.1 percent costlier in 2020, the cost of construction plant rose by 1.5 percent and the costs of materials by 0.5 percent," added Paulus.
Repair and reconstruction work price index rose by 0.1 percent between Q3 and Q4 2020, while this index rose by 0.2 percent in 2020 compared with the previous year.
While the cost of construction materials rose by 0.4 percent, labour costs and the cost of using building machines remained at the same level.
The construction price index expresses the change in construction expenditures taking into consideration the price changes of three basic inputs: Labour force, building materials and building machines.
Calculating the index takes in four categories of buildings: Detached houses, blocks of flats, industrial buildings and office buildings. The repair and reconstruction work price index covers office buildings.
Editor: Andrew Whyte
