Building materials have seen declining availability due to the ongoing attacks on vessels in the Red Sea disrupting trade routes.
According to government figures the average cost to build a house rose 0.8% from February to March whilst repair and maintenance costs rose 0.6%.
A reason for this rise was attributed to the ongoing vessel attacks in the Red Sea by the Houthis, a rebel group backed by Iran, controlling a part of Yemen. These attacks disrupt trade routes to Israel, particularly following their public support for Hamas and Palestine.
Building material prices affected by due to ongoing conflicts
In a statement, John Newcomb, CEO of the Builders Merchants Federation and Peter Caplehorn, CEO of the Construction Products Association, revealed reports of price volatility for timber-related products and PIR (polyisocyanurate) insulation boards.
This was caused by a lack of chemical deliveries to PIR suppliers resulting from disruption to trade routes in the Red Sea by rebels stopping trade routes in the Suez Canal due to ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine, which has caused significant problems to housing output.
In March 2024, brick deliveries saw a decline of 7.4% compared to March 2023, while block deliveries experienced a modest increase of 4.9% during the same period.
Material price indices showed mixed trends from March 2023 to March 2024 with new housing prices decreasing slightly by 0.2% and repair and maintenance costs decreasing by 0.9%.
Ready-mixed concrete sales also decreased by 3.1% in Q4 2023 compared to Q3 2023, representing an annual 8.1% decline.
Seasonally adjusted data revealed that sales of sand and gravel increased by 1.2% in Quarter 1 2024 compared to Quarter 4 2023. However, there was a slight decrease of 1.4% in Quarter 4 2023 compared to Quarter 3 2023.
Construction materials experiencing the greatest price increases and decreases in the 12 months to March 2024
