High cost of building materials to trigger low construction, high rents in new year
Improved economic policies will encourage investment, say experts
With continuous dependence on importation, inflation is hitting the building market as prices of construction material rose by over 50 per cent between January 2022 and January 2023, according to The Guardian survey.
The unabated rise in cost of materials is impacting rentals and delivery of affordable housing in parts of the country. Industry experts fear that the development could further slow down 2023 construction plans and spike housing prices.
Many developers and housing managers are already exploiting the situation to hike prices of homes, especially newly constructed buildings. Nigeria’s inflation rate climbs to a new 17-year high, accelerating for the 10th straight month to 21.47 per cent in November 2022 from 21.09 per cent in October and above market estimates of 21.15 per cent. With the highest spending devoted to materials in building production process, developers are not enjoying the best of times in the industry as they find it hard to maximise profit.
