As soon as Cypriots were happy about the decrease in the cost of building materials in February, prices started climbing again.
According to fresh data from the Cyprus Statistical Service, released on Thursday, April 18, the Construction Materials Price Index reached 117.19 points in March (on a 2015 basis = 100), showing an increase of 0.21 compared to the previous month of 2024, and 1.7% compared to the same month in 2023.
The following categories of goods increased in price the most in March in the island nation:
- minerals (+1.22%),
- electromechanical products (+0.48%),
- mineral products (+0.46%).
On the contrary, decreases were recorded in wood products, insulation materials, chemicals and plastics - by 0.59% and metal products - by 6.45%.
For the period January-March 2024, the Index recorded a decrease of 2.05% compared to the corresponding period in 2023.
The price index of construction products reflects the change in prices in the construction of objects of various types of economic activity.
The additional costs arising from the continuous increase in the cost of construction materials fall on customers.
As a result, customers have to pay more than the amount originally agreed with the developer. However, there are cases where the signed contracts oblige the builder to bear the additional materials costs themselves, not allowing them to burden the buyers.
The continuing rise in the cost of building materials also affects the mortgage loans of individuals and legal entities. In many cases, it turns out that the money secured by construction loans is not enough: all the original estimates have fundamentally changed. Borrowers are forced to go to the bank for a second time, to ask for an increase in the original loan amount. Banking institutions scrutinize all the cases of borrowers returning to them and try to determine whether the client will be able to withstand the additional financial burden and even larger loans.